Remote Working is Becoming the New “Norm” for Twitter, Facebook

The world’s most famous tech companies are spearheading full-time remote work opportunities for their employees amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jack Dorsey made headlines recently when he announced all Twitter employees now have the option to work from home indefinitely. While in late May, Mark Zuckerberg declared that up to half of Facebook’s employees (48,268 people) could be working remotely in five to 10 years. Offices won’t be disappearing from Silicon Valley altogether, but we should expect a significant shift toward working remotely.

Are there benefits to working remotely?

Venturing out of offices could mean more job opportunities for people who live outside of the traditional ‘tech hubs’ like the Bay Area, Seattle, and Austin. Many big tech companies are waking up and realizing allowing employees to work from home may not be such a bad idea, after all. Companies can save money on wages by paying employees based on the cost of living where they work, while also lowering rental expenses. If they don’t have to rent an office, especially in the pricey areas like the Bay Area, they can potentially save millions of dollars. Many are saying that it’s time to spread digital opportunities across the country. If there’s anything our nation needs right now, coronavirus cure aside, it’s more job opportunities.  

What are the drawbacks?

Nothing is perfect. Cybersecurity is posing a major issue for employees. Hackers are already targeting Americans working from home. Because the average person uses unsecured Wi-Fi networks at home, it’s leaving them more vulnerable to security threats. The good news is that there are means and resources you can use to help boost your personal online security. Trustwire is one of the easiest online collaboration tools that allow users to send and receive files from anywhere in the world securely. The data is end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one except the rightful owner and receiver will be able to access the data.

Another downfall of the new work from home trend is that in-person collaboration is precious. Will employees miss the feeling of camaraderie or even just chatting around the water cooler?

Experts are still unsure if Zoom conferences and a daily phone call will be enough.
Major tech companies like Twitter and Facebook have never permitted their workers to operate remotely. We’re entering brand new territory. If it weren’t for COVID-19, would we have ever witnessed this shift? What are the long-term ramifications, and will employee morale remain the same? It’s impossible to say what effects short and long term remote work will have on a company, its profits, and its employees.

Working remotely isn’t a trend, and it looks like it’s here to stay. It’s also not going to be limited to just the big tech companies. More and more businesses are vowing to allow their employees to work remotely, even after the coronavirus pandemic is a thing of the past.

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