Best Companies Choosing Permanent and Hybrid Work From Home in 2022
While the post-Covid-19 culture has disrupted the whole global economy and enterprises, it has also introduced a few substantial modifications to many firms’ work cultures. Morning rush hours, on-time log-ins, coffee breaks with coworkers, conference room conversations, and heading home after a busy day are now past.
The pandemic was a catastrophe that trapped every office enthusiast in their cramped bedroom office. That much-anticipated team excursion is now only a name in your office calendar. Employees are increasingly being dispatched to work from home.
Some employees are ecstatic that corporate offices give numerous possibilities for working from various locations, while others cherish the good old office days.
Workplace Culture Before the Pandemic
Corporates were dominated by severe and traditional work environments where an employee virtually lived a robotic life till the innovative coronavirus revealed its presence. This changed instantly as businesses were obliged to restart day-to-day operations to maintain the status quo.
When employees were forced to return to work from home during the pandemic, a lot changed. Companies ensured that they had everything they needed to keep the show operating.
However, in the post-pandemic world, many corporate offices have closed their doors, and workers are being requested to work from home permanently, while others have adopted hybrid work cultures.
Companies that have adopted a permanent work-from-home culture include:
Companies are willing to change and continue working from home as the “new normal” as we settle into the post-pandemic era. Some organisations have urged their workers to work from home as a long-term solution. Others, meantime, are still figuring it out and developing hybrid work environments in which people may work from home and in the office. Here is a list of firms that have opted to allow their staff to work from home permanently:
- Atlassian
Atlassian is an Australian software firm that develops and sells team communication, management, and problem tracking software. The software business in Sydney, New South Wales, has successfully handled the Covid-19 outbreak by allowing its workers to work from home. On August 8, 2020, the firm announced permanent work from home for its workers for the first time.
In April 2021, Atlassian announced its all-new “Team Anywhere” strategy, which solidified the company’s commitment to working from home. The firm allows its workers to work from any place in a nation where Atlassian has a corporate entity, as long as they have the legal right to work and are aligned with their team members, who are all bound by the same schedule.
- Brex
Brex is a fintech firm based in California, United States. The organisation is well-known for its prestigious credit cards and sophisticated cash management solutions for its clients. Even though COVID-19 was a difficulty for many businesses worldwide, Brex was one of the corporations that successfully dealt with it. On September 14, 2020, the firm stated that work from home would be permanent for its workers, establishing itself as a remote-first employer. On July 15, 2021, Brex reaffirmed that the company would operate as a virtual-first corporation with no physical headquarters.
- Coinbase
Coinbase is a US-based online platform that enables merchants, customers, and dealers to conduct digital currency transactions. Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange based in San Francisco, California, that allows users to establish bitcoin wallets, link them to their bank accounts, and purchase and sell bitcoins.
Since the coronavirus outbreak came out, Coinbase has moved to work from home. Later in 2020, the firm declared that it would become a remote-first company, allowing workers to work from home for an infinite duration if they so wanted. Coinbase reduces the number of offices in a single location to spread out and extend its geographical reach.
- Dropbox
Dropbox is situated in the United States, with headquarters in San Francisco, California. Dropbox, an intelligent workspace provider, makes it simple for its customers to save their files, securely share them, and collaborate without any difficulties.
The California-based file-sharing corporation has announced that employees will be able to work from home beginning March 6, 2020. Dropbox then revealed its intention to become a virtual-first firm in October 2020. It also intends to open Dropbox Studios, which will serve as collaboration spaces in its office locations. Dropbox also promised to use nonlinear workdays and allow its employees to choose their work schedules.
- Novartis
Novartis is a pharmaceutical and healthcare corporation based in Basel-Stadt, Switzerland that provides pharmaceutical and healthcare solutions to consumers worldwide.
The Swiss healthcare organisation already had a work-from-home policy authorised by management. Soon after the pandemic strike, the firm implemented a work-from-home policy, and in July 2020, it announced a transition from manager-approved work-from-home to manager-informed work-from-home. To clarify, Novartis has already stated that its workers would be able to pick how, when, and where they will work following the pandemic.
- ONVU Technologies
ONVU Technologies is an information technology firm headquartered in London, UK, with offices worldwide. ONVU Technologies has offices in India, the United States, and Turkey, among other places.
In February, the firm stated that it would have entirely remote staff. Ragini Sidhu, Human Resources VP, noted that ONVU Technologies is confident in its choice to allow the team to work from home, which will enable them to schedule their time according to their preferences. This is mainly due to the faith that it invests in its personnel.
- Quora
The world-famous Question and Answer platform is situated in California, with its headquarters in Mountain View, California. Quora invites individuals from all over the world to contribute to the forum by commenting on issues of mutual interest. Quora’s primary purpose is to acquire information and develop its Q&A database.
Early in June, the Q&A behemoth adopted a remote-first paradigm. The firm indicated that more than 60% of its workers preferred working from home even after Covid19, so they took such a move. The Mountain View office’s headquarters would emerge in a co-working area where just the cameras would need to be switched on.
Twitter, one of the world’s most prominent social media sites, allows its users to produce micro-blogs of roughly 280 characters called Tweets and share their own opinions on their Twitter profiles on anything. The company’s headquarters are in San Francisco, California, in the United States. Here are some fascinating facts about Twitter’s CEO that you probably didn’t know. Following the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, Twitter declared that its employees would be able to work from home. However, within two months, the corporation made another statement to make work from home a permanent option, except for individuals who must be physically present at the office due to the nature of their employment.
- Shopify
The cloud-based multichannel platform, founded in Ontario, Canada, assists small and medium-sized enterprises in creating, designing, and managing their shops and sales channels across numerous sales channels.
Since the outbreak, the organisation has avoided uncertainty by allowing employees to work from home. Shopify’s physical headquarters remained shuttered until 2021 when they were renovated to provide the necessary amenities to facilitate operating in a pandemic situation. Furthermore, Shopify’s employees were informed about the company’s permanent shift to remote work via a tweet from the CEO.
- Slack
Slack is a California-based corporate software platform that enables people and professional teams working for a company to communicate efficiently. Salesforce will purchase Slack on December 1, 2020.
As soon as the epidemic broke out, Slack quickly relocated its personnel to work from home and then decided to make it a permanent working method. Furthermore, since its June announcement, Slack has been growing its recruiting of remote-first staff.
- Spotify
Spotify is a commercial music streaming service founded in Sweden. It provides users, and other people access to a vast catalogue of songs and music albums from various record companies. As soon as the shadows of the Covid19 epidemic began to fall over the planet, this corporation swiftly adopted a work-from-home policy for its staff.
In February 2021, the music streaming service stated that it had chosen to implement a work-from-anywhere policy for its staff. This policy allows Spotify workers to work from home or the office, wherever they desire, even after the epidemic has ended. However, the choice must be unanimous, and the employees and their supervisors will make it.
Furthermore, workers can work outside of their city or nation, even if there are no Spotify locations nearby. Moreover, they may gain membership in Spotify co-working spaces established in places where they do not have offices.
- Square
Square is a financial services, merchant services aggregator, and digital payments platform based in San Francisco, California, created by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey.
Dorsey’s firm, California-based Square, soon adopted the work-from-home policy once Twitter agreed to it. Furthermore, the corporation declared that employees would be able to continue working from home, or anywhere they desire. Only workers whose physical presence is required must work from the office.
- Upwork
Upwork is a global digital network for freelancers where businesses, entrepreneurs, and others provide short-term and long-term freelancing opportunities to individuals who qualify.
With the coronavirus epidemic in full swing, Upwork didn’t waste time giving its workers work from home alternatives to stay up with their production. The remote job listing site then chose to do what it preaches, and the firm became a remote-first company in May 2021, with the Twitter announcement of CEO Hayden Brown. Square is now a full-time work-from-home business.
- Zillow
Zillow is a Seattle, Washington-based online real-estate startup that provides a platform for people searching for information about homes, real estate, and mortgages.
In July, Zillow decided to provide flexible work from home choices to its workers. According to Dan Spaulding, the company’s Chief People Officer, employees may work from anywhere where they can be effective, and they can work from the office, from home, or a combination of the two.
- Tata Steel Ltd.
Tata Steel Limited is a steel production firm based in India. Jamsetji Tata created Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) in Jamshedpur in 1907, and Tata Steel Limited is now based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The firm presently has operations in 26 countries, mainly in India, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and employs over 80,500 people globally.
Tata Steel implemented a work-from-home policy for its employees as soon as the virus began spreading alarmingly far and wide in 2020. On November 1, 2020, the firm stated that it would implement an ‘Agile Working Model’ policy for its staff.
Under this new working style, Tata Steel employees might choose to work from home (WFH) for up to 365 days a year. Furthermore, even officers who are obligated to be located in a specific region might choose to work for WFH for an unlimited number of days each year.
- Facebook/Meta
The social media company Meta, formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Founded in 2004 as TheFacebook by Harvard university grads Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, the social media network acquired the name Facebook and quickly became highly famous throughout the world. However, on October 28, 2021, the largest social media platform firm was renamed, Meta. This rebranding was carried out due to the company’s growth potential for expansion beyond social media. The name “Meta” was inspired by the phrase “metaverse,” which refers to working and playing in the virtual world. Facebook or Meta had gained around 2.9 billion users as of 2021.
Meta has already allowed its staff to work from home or wherever they felt most comfortable. Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s creator, believes that the change to remote work will be permanent at Facebook, allowing its workers to work from anywhere they may be living. As a result, employees of the world’s largest social network are required to work from home regularly.
“We feel that how we work is more important than where we work,” Facebook stated when it updated its remote work policy.
According to December 8, 2021, Meta has begun an “office deferral programme.” This method will assist Meta workers in gaining enough flexibility to return to their workplaces since most employees may be hesitant to return to their offices. The social media behemoth also confirmed to Reuters on December 7, 2021, that it will completely reopen its U.S. headquarters on January 31, the following year. However, the office would be open to a three to five-month delay in the arrival of new personnel.
Companies pursuing a hybrid model
Now consider the offices that have chosen a hybrid strategy for the benefit of both themselves and their employees:
As soon as the epidemic broke out, Google, the search engine behemoth from the United States, went to work from home. When the situation in America and elsewhere in the world worsened in 2020, Google employees were forced to work from home. Though there have been reports that Google would establish offices in 2021, according to the most recent pronouncements from the Search Engine behemoth, workers can continue to work from home until June 2021.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, also said that people who do not need to be present at the offices for their work could continue to volunteer from home for another 12 months. Learn more about Google’s “Hybrid Work Week” and its effectiveness.
- Ford
When the epidemic struck, the American multinational car business located in Dearborn, Michigan, USA, had a work-from-home policy for its workers. It then performed a work choice poll in June 2020, finding that almost 95 per cent of the company’s employees chose a combination of work from home and work from the office over working from either location permanently.
On March 17, 2021, the Michigan-based automobile manufacturers announced that they would opt for a hybrid working arrangement for their personnel. According to the release, Ford employees in the United States will be able to join their workplaces for small team meetings beginning in July.
- Hubspot
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based software producer and marketer of software products opted to maintain a work-from-home policy in 2020 when the epidemic erupted. However, at the start of the new year, in January 2021, Hubspot provided three options for employees: work from home, work from the office, or choose a hybrid approach. It further stated that people who choose to work from the office may only do so for two days per week and would be assigned hotel workstations. Furthermore, employees who decide on any alternatives mentioned above can adjust their working schedules once a year.
- Intuit
Intuit Inc., a financial software producer, based in California, is another firm that adopted a hybrid strategy when the intensity of the coronavirus epidemic decreased. In April, the Quickbooks firm stated its preference for a hybrid work paradigm that would be in place from August 2021 forward.
Intuit made this choice based on a study of its workers, which revealed that just 14% of Intuit employees wish to work from home. Inuit workers who prefer to work from home can do so 2-3 days each week.
- Microsoft
Microsoft, the American software giant, moved to work from home to prevent the epidemic. In October 2020, Microsoft announced increased flexibility in its workplace policies. Microsoft announced its hybrid work policy in October 2020, stating that its employees can telecommute for half of the week or may have the option of permanent remote working with previous management permission. Take a peek at these Interesting Microsoft Facts as well.
- Siemens
A German engineering and electronics business, Siemens is another on the list of organisations that favour a hybrid work model over working from the office or home. Learn everything there is to know about Siemens’ subsidiaries.
The Munich-based electronics firm said in July 2020 that its employees would be able to telecommute 2 to 3 days per week. This will continue even after the epidemic is over. The working policy would apply to the company’s approximately 1,40,000 workers located in 43 different countries.
- Nationwide
While the pandemic was still active, the financial institution in the United Kingdom decided to allow its staff to work from home. As a result, the corporation closed several of its modest offices dispersed around the country. As a result, the majority of the individuals who worked in these offices were given permanent work from home opportunities. On the other hand, Nationwide established four corporate offices in Ohio, Iowa, Arizona, and Texas, from which they will continue to operate.
During the epidemic, the social news aggregation, web content rating, and conversation website created in Massachusetts, United States, have allowed their workers to work from home. However, the firm revealed later in October 2020 that Reddit workers would be allowed to choose which style of work they are most comfortable with. Working from home, working from the office, or mixing the two were the alternatives. Except for facilities and IT personnel, who cannot work from home and must go to the office, most employees were able to choose their work arrangement. Reddit decided to compensate its staff following the wage levels in pricey cities like San Francisco and New York.
- Salesforce
Salesforce is a San Francisco-based cloud-based corporation that provides enterprise-level apps, customer relationship management systems, and other services. The cloud-based customer service company polled its workers, and the majority of them (about 80%) expressed a desire to maintain a tight relationship with the physical office space. This is why Salesforce, which has previously opted to be flexible in allowing workers to pick their preferred work environment, has adopted a flex policy comparable to hybrid work culture. In such a work paradigm, Salesforce workers would have to come into the office 1-3 days per week and work from home.
- Amazon
One of the Big Five in the United States, Amazon rose to prominence through its eCommerce. The firm began as an online book store and has now evolved to provide a wide range of items in various sectors. The corporation created by Jeff Bezos is currently an American international conglomerate that focuses on eCommerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, artificial intelligence, and other areas. The corporation has been referred to as “one of the world’s most important economic and cultural forces” and “the world’s most valuable brand.”
Amazon had initially said that its employees would return to the workplace on September 7, 2021; however, this date has since been pushed out to January 3, 2022. According to sources, the corporation is also planning to shortly implement a hybrid work-from-home strategy. According to this policy, Amazon will allow its workers to work from home two days every week.
- Tata Consultancy Services
TCS is an Indian multinational corporation based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. TCS is a part of the Tata Group, which has offices in around 149 sites in 46 countries throughout the world. TCS is also known as the world’s largest IT services firm in terms of market capitalisation.
As soon as the virus began to spread like wildfire, TCS saw the trend and decided to enable its workers to work from home. As of September 2021, around 97 percent of TCS workers are working from home. The company has adopted a Work from Anywhere policy, which it has been using since March 2020.
TCS has also stated that it will pursue a hybrid working paradigm in which a “substantial proportion” of employees will continue to work from home.
“The future of work will be something hybrid, with some people working from home and others coming to the office.” As a result, the hybrid will most certainly become the new normal,” said Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the company’s Chairman.
- Infosys
Infosys is an Indian multinational corporation best recognised for its information technology services. The firm was formed in Pune more than 40 years ago and is now located in Bangalore. After TCS, Infosys is recognised as India’s second-largest IT business, and it is also one of the subcontinent’s oldest IT firms.
Since the coronavirus epidemic hit hard, Infosys, like many other IT businesses, has chosen to enable its staff to work from home. Due to the unpredictability of the pandemic, the corporation has already said that it will investigate a flexible hybrid work style for its workers beginning in 2021. According to current sources, Infosys staff would not be obliged to be present in the office on all days for at least the next six months.
At a virtual event addressing the business’s work from home policy, Infosys CEO & Managing Director Salil Parekh stated that the company has already successfully developed a flexible model about work from home, and it is now time to begin work; on building social capital.’
- Wipro
Wipro, another Indian global firm, may opt for a mixed work approach. The corporation that permitted its staff to work from home during the Coronavirus outbreak has dropped clues that it may implement a hybrid work policy even after things have returned to routine. Wipro founder Azim Premji praised the mixed work model used by IT businesses during the epidemic. He also stated that more than 90% of technology company employees continue to work from home.
Mohamed Premji started Wipro in 1945 in Amalner, Maharashtra, and it presently has its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka. With nearly 200,000 people, it is now India’s ninth-largest employer.
- Maruti
Maruti Suzuki India Limited, or simply Maruti Suzuki, is a New Delhi-based vehicle manufacturing firm. Maruti Udyog Limited was founded in 1981 and was controlled by the Government of India until 2003 when it was sold to Suzuki Motor Corporation.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, Maruti has also allowed its staff to work from home. In addition, in 2021, the business stated that “there will be a part of individuals who can entirely work from remote areas without the need to travel to the office.”
- Philips
Philips is a well-known Dutch multinational corporation formed in 1891 as Koninklijke Philips N.V. Philips was lauded as one of the world’s largest electronic corporations, with headquarters in Amsterdam and Eindhoven. The company’s current focus is on the healthcare business, and it is working to produce new technological devices that will help revolutionise it. Since the pandemic outbreak in 2020, Philips has also declared that many of its workers would be able to work from home. During the epidemic, however, a large section of the personnel in the healthcare profession was required to attend their workplaces virtually every day. These staffs were either working with healthcare professionals or treating coronavirus-affected people to combat the terrible virus.
Why do businesses provide permanent WFH options?
Corporate personnel have discovered the silver lining in staying away from offices because the epidemic prompted everyone to shut themselves up in their houses physically. Employees see positive improvements such as shorter commutes, more time with friends and family, and increased productivity.
Employers aren’t immune to observing these changes and their benefits of them. Employers have discovered ways to get work done remotely and more effectively, saving money on office space, power, supplies, and other costs.
Remote Work’s Future
Only 9% of employees stated they wished to return to their workplaces in a research performed by Leadership IQ, the State of Working From Home. The remaining 91 per cent said they’d want to work from home full-time, while 39 per cent said they’d prefer a blended work environment.
Most staff will be working from home shortly, and none of them appears to mind. Companies have realised that remote work produces better outcomes and significantly improves staff retention.
Conclusion
Employees are rerouting back to abandoned interests and passions to experience the new normal and put their parameters to it. Taking care of the elderly and sick at home and assisting spouses in dividing domestic tasks and obligations for children has become the new normal.
With interruptions from pets and infants, Zoom calls have revolutionised office meetings. People are less nervous and are attempting to do more in all areas. Work from home is becoming more common, and the quality of life has improved significantly.
