WFH Forever Companies
These companies have permitted employees to work from home (WFH) for indefinite periods of time based on the news articles linked below. They are presented in approximately chronological order.
If you’d like to add to this list, please submit a pull request in the j2xl.github.io Github repository. Not a Github user? Send me a tip at wfh@weill.org. Please include either a company news release or an article from a credible news source. I’m particularly interested in companies that formerly expected employees to commute to offices, not companies that have always had a WFH culture.
Twitter
Employees that do not have a job that requires physical presence, such as server administrators, will be permitted to work from home indefinitely.
Twitter Will Allow Employees To Work At Home Forever — Buzzfeed News, May 12, 2020
Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, Musk informed employees in November 2022 that they will only be able to work from home permanently with the CEO’s personal approval.
Musk’s First Email to Twitter Staff Ends Remote Work, November 10, 2022
Square
“We want employees to be able to work where they feel most creative and productive,” a company spokesperson told The Verge. “Moving forward, Squares will be able to work from home permanently, even once offices begin to reopen. Over the past several weeks, we’ve learned a lot about what it takes for people to effectively perform roles outside of an office, and we will continue to learn as we go.”
Square announces permanent work-from-home policy — The Verge, May 18, 2020
Shopify
“We will keep our offices closed until 2021 so that we can rework them for this new reality. And after that, most will permanently work remotely. Office centricity is over.” — Tobi Lutke, CEO
Shopify permanently moves to work-from-home model — CBC, May 21, 2020
During an all-hands call with employees, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that employees may permanently work from home if they have experience and have a strong recent job performance. New hires with less industry experience will still be expected to come into offices when possible. Employees that work on hardware development and content review will be expected to work in offices.
Facebook’s Zuckerberg says employees will be able to work from home permanently — CNET, May 21, 2020
Groupe PSA
Groupe PSA is a French automaker which owns the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands. Its non-production staff will work remotely. The company also plans to reduce its real estate footprint.
These companies plan to make working from home the new normal. As in forever — CNN, May 22, 2020
Slack
“Slack is going to become a much more distributed company. That means most employees will have the option to work remotely on a permanent basis if they choose, and we will begin to increasingly hire employees who are permanently remote,” writes Robby Kwok, Slack SVP of People.
Update on Slack office closures from Slack SVP of People Robby Kwok, June 11, 2020
Infosys
“Over a call with Business Today, Richard Lobo, Executive Vice President, Head HR, Infosys said, ‘Once things are normal, over a period of time, probably 50 per cent of employees will come to office and the rest will work from home. Moving on, 66 per cent will be in office but 33 per cent will work permanently from home.’”
Infosys mulls permanent work from home for 33-50% employees, June 22, 2020
Quora
Adam D’Angelo writes, “Quora will be a remote-first company starting immediately, and 60% of our employees have chosen not to work from an office even after covid-19 is no longer a threat. … Remote work will be the primary orientation of our company - the default for all choices.” Quora will keep its existing office in Mountain View as a space for employees who would prefer to use it.
Remote First at Quora, June 25, 2020
Fujitsu
“Technology firm Fujitsu has said it will halve its office space in Japan as it adapts to the ‘new normal’ of the coronavirus pandemic. … Staff will be able to work flexible hours, and working from home will be standard wherever possible.”
Coronavirus: Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan, July 6, 2020
Siemens
“The aim is to enable employees worldwide to work on a mobile basis for an average of two or three days a week, whenever reasonable and feasible,” Siemens said in a statement.
Siemens to let staff spend less time in the office permanently, July 16, 2020
Zillow
“Effective immediately, we will offer about 90% of our employees the flexibility to work from home as an ongoing option, at least part-time, allowing them the ability to work where they are most productive, whether that is in the office, their home, or a combination of both,” writes Dan Spaulding, Zillow’s Chief People Officer.
At Zillow, we’re offering most employees flexibility to WFH indefinitely, July 29, 2020
Atlassian
At the maker of Jira, Confluence, and Trello, employees can work from home indefinitely. Offices will still be available for use if desired. The company plans to track outcomes of the decision.
Atlassian tells employees they can work from home forever, August 7, 2020
Schroders
The London-based fund manager will permit its staff to work from home even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
PwC and Schroders will allow staff to work from home after Covid crisis, August 17, 2020
Microsoft
Microsoft announced that all employees who can work remotely may do so up to 50% of the time with no approval and full time with manager approval. Employees can relocate with adjustments to their compensation and benefits.
Microsoft is letting more employees work from home permanently, October 9, 2020
Dropbox
Dropbox announced a plan to make remote work the “primary experience for all employees.” The company also announced a new collaborative “Studio” concept to be built from existing offices and coworking spaces. “Every employee aligned to one of our offices will have access to a Studio. To ensure a fair and consistent employee experience, we felt it was important to be prescriptive about how these spaces are used—so Dropbox Studios will be specifically for collaboration and community-building, and employees will not be able to use them for solo work.”
Dropbox goes Virtual First, October 13, 2020
Spotify
Spotify announced a new program called My Work Mode. “Our employees will be able to work full time from home, from the office, or a combination of the two. The exact mix of home and office work mode is a decision each employee and their manager make together.”
Introducing Working From Anywhere, February 12, 2021
Ford
“About 30,000 employees of the automaker who were shifted to remote work during the pandemic can carry on in those roles for the foreseeable future, Ford told CBS MoneyWatch. The remote option, announced to employees last week during a staff meeting, only applies to salaried office workers, not manufacturing jobs at auto plants.”
Ford offering work-from-home option to 30,000 employees, March 22, 2021
Deloitte (UK)
“Deloitte is giving all of its employees in the UK the ability to choose to work from home forever as it embraces flexible working permanently.”
Deloitte tells its 20,000 UK employees they can work from home forever, June 19, 2021
“The majority of LinkedIn’s 16,000 employees will be allowed to work remotely full-time, the company said …, in a reversal of its previous policy.”
LinkedIn says most employees can work from home forever, July 29, 2021
PwC (US)
“PwC announced today it will allow all U.S. employees who can telework the ability to work virtually from anywhere in the continental U.S. moving forward.”
PwC announces nearly 40,000 U.S. employees can work remote from anywhere in the country, October 1, 2021
Quinn Emanuel
The company, “a white-shoe law firm based in Los Angeles, said on Monday that all of its lawyers in the United States would be allowed to work from anywhere.“
Plans to return to the office grow murkier by the day., December 20, 2021
Robinhood
The online brokerage is based in Menlo Park, California, but “for a large segment of Robinhood employees there will be no location or in-office requirement”.
Robinhood says it will offer permanent remote working to most employees, January 12, 2022
Airbnb
“Now the home-sharing company itself will shift to a remote work model, allowing its employees to be located anywhere in the country they currently work in, CEO Brian Chesky says.”
Airbnb will let its employees live and work anywhere, April 28, 2022
See also
- Remote Work Tracker by Arjun Madgavkar
Edited by Jason Weill. This site does not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer.