The cloud computing company Salesforce joins other tech giants in Silicon Valley and announces a significant change in how it allows employees to work. In a blog post published on Tuesday, the company says the “9-to-5 business day is dead” and that it will allow employees to choose one of three categories that determine how often, if ever , return to the office if it is safe to do so.
Salesforce also gives employees more freedom to choose what their daily schedules look like. The company joins other tech companies such as Facebook and Microsoft that have announced permanent work-from-home policies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘As we enter a new year, we need to continue with mobility, creativity and a beginner’s mindset – and that includes how we cultivate our culture. An immersive workspace is no longer limited to a desk in our towers; the 9 to 5 business day is dead; and the work experience is about more than table tennis tables and snacks, ”writes Brent Hyder, head of Salesforce.
“In our ever-connected world, it no longer makes sense to expect employees to work an eight-hour shift and do their job successfully,” Hyder adds. “Whether you have a global team to manage over time zones, a project-based role that is busier or slower depending on the season, or simply balances personal and professional commitments throughout the day, workers need flexibility to be successful. . ”
Hyder mentions that he will pick up young children from school or care for sick family members, as reasons why an employee is not expected to report to a strict eight-hour shift every day. He also points out that the removal of strict office requirements will enable Salesforce to expand its recruitment of new employees beyond expensive urban centers such as San Francisco and New York.
In the blog post, Hyder defines the three different categories of work as flexible, completely remote and office-based. Flex means you come to the office one to three days a week and usually only for ‘teamwork, customer meetings and presentations’, and Salesforce expects most employees to fall into this category.
How it sounds is completely remote – never comes to the office, except perhaps in very rare situations or for work-related occasions. Office staff will be ‘the smallest population of our staff’, says Hyder and are employees whose roles are in the office four to five days a week.
“Our employees are the architects of this strategy, and flexibility will be the key from now on,” Hyder writes. “It is our employers’ responsibility to empower our people to do the work during the schedule that works best for them and their teams, and offers flexible options to make them even more productive.”