As part of the ongoing evolution of post-pandemic return to work environments, Facebook has made yet another update in its plan to bring employees back into the office.
As of June 15, employees at all levels across the company can request to work remotely full-time even after the pandemic. This comes after a prior announcement from the company that only employees at certain levels could request to work remotely full-time.
Facebook also announced that for the remainder of 2021, employees have a total of 20 business days that they can use to work from anywhere they wish, as long as they have authorization.
Salesforce, another Bay Area tech giant, also expects to transition to majority full-time remote work after the pandemic. According to CEO Marc Benioff, about 20% of employees worked from home prior to the pandemic and expects that to increase to 50%-60% of employees working full-time remote from now until the foreseeable future.
As for the company’s current office space, Benioff suggests that it will be used for events, training facilities and engagement centers.
Mask and vaccine guidance and requirements evolve – and vary
In other news, recent updates have been made to the mask-wearing policy for businesses in Santa Clara County. Due to high vaccination rates and stable rates of COVID-19, county officials have decided to end mask wearing rules for those who are fully vaccinated in the workplace. Those who are not vaccinated are still required to wear a mask in indoor settings.
Meanwhile, cities and companies are individually grappling with vaccination requirements for workers. San Francisco made headlines this week with the announcement that it will require all 35,000 city employees to be vaccinated. Those who refuse without a medical or religious exemption could be fired. Similarly, top-tier investment bank Morgan Stanley announced that its employees who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to the office and will have to continue working remotely.
This story will be updated as return to work plans continue to evolve.