Facebook is allowing its employees to work from home more frequently, and Mark Zuckerberg is leading by example.
A company spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business that the Facebook CEO told employees in a memo on Wednesday that he plans to work remotely for at least half of the next year. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the memo.
“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,” Zuckerberg wrote, according to the Journal.
Facebook (FB) announced on Wednesday that employees at all levels of the company will be able to apply for remote work if their position allows it. Employees who want to return to the office on a flexible basis can do so, but they will be encouraged to spend at least half of their time there, and they can spend up to 20 working days in a year in a remote location.
Starting next week, employees who want to move from the United States to Canada and from anywhere in Europe or the Middle East to the United Kingdom will be able to work remotely across borders.
Zuckerberg has previously stated that within the next ten years, at least half of Facebook’s workforce will be completely remote.
Many Silicon Valley companies that were among the first to shift to remote work are now figuring out how — and how much — to reopen their offices, with more than half of US adults fully vaccinated and a broader economic reopening on the horizon.
From September this year, Twitter (TWTR) will ask employees to choose between staying permanently remote, returning to the office, or switching office locations if their role allows it. Google will ask employees to choose between staying permanently remote, returning to the office, or switching office locations.
Starting in September, Apple (AAPL) and Uber (UBER) have implemented more stringent policies, requiring employees to return to their pre-pandemic office at least three days a week.