Most FB Workers Now Eligible for Perk That's Made CEO 'Happier'

Company to allow most employees option to work remotely
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2021 7:45 AM CDT
Zuckerberg Plans to Keep Working Remotely
In this Oct. 25, 2019, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Paley Center in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Businesses across America are starting to more fully reopen and transition back to in-person operations, and Facebook is no exception. The Wall Street Journal reports that the social media giant will be opening the bulk of its US offices to half capacity in September, with a full opening set for October. But most of its workers will have a choice: Come into the office at least half the time or, if eligible, keep working remotely. The company has just expanded to all levels of the company who's able to work virtually, including entry-level engineers and other newbie workers. Facebook also has plans to gradually open up pathways for workers to move elsewhere, such as from the US to Canada, or from Europe or the Middle East to the UK, per CNN. CNBC notes these plans are a shift from ones announced in May 2020, when the company said it would let mostly senior-level employees ask to work remotely for good.

One employee who intends to keep up the virtual work: CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In a Wednesday memo, the Facebook chief told employees he plans on working remotely for as much as half of the next year. "I've found that working remotely has given me more space for long-term thinking and helped me spend more time with my family, which has made me happier and more productive at work," he noted. Brynn Harrington, Facebook's VP of people growth, notes that certain roles can't be done remotely (e.g., hardware lab employees), and that even those who are eligible still need the OK from their individual teams. Indeed, Zuckerberg acknowledged that transitioning to this new work normal would take time. "Getting this right will take years," he noted in his memo, per the Journal. (More Mark Zuckerberg stories.)

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