Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook recently made a revolutionary announcement of Facebook remote work that caught worldwide attention. This decision was announced in a virtual conference of the Facebook employees and Zuckerberg, which was also streamed on Facebook. It is expected that by 2030, almost more than half of the Facebook employers will be encouraged and supported to work from home.
This decision of Facebook permanent work from home is going to impact a lot, and bring a lot of change in the coming years. Before knowing about this Mark Zuckerberg remote work decision, let’s have a look at the background and the situation that led to the announcement of remote work from Facebook.
Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak
The announcement came amidst the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic which has affected almost every nation in the world. After millions of infected patients and the increasing number of deaths, countries after countries are extending their nationwide lockdowns. Though a number of countries are succeeding in containing the spread of coronavirus, the situation has not improved much.
Though a number of countries are slowly and gradually reducing the restrictions, it is going to be difficult to bring back the daily life on a normal level. We can say that things are not going to be the same after this, and everything will change. There’s no field in our life that has not been influenced by this global pandemic. So, it can be said that the situation after the coronavirus outbreak is going to be tougher and harder than the situation during the outbreak.
Increasing Preference for Work from Home
One of the major and long-lasting impacts of global coronavirus outbreak is the increasing preference to work from home. Though a majority of industries have stopped working because of the nationwide lockdowns, we know that it will adversely affect the nation’s economy.
We all will agree to the fact that a complete lockdown is impossible. If all the companies, industries, and government-private firms stop working at once, the economy of the nation will surely collapse. And work from home was the best possible alternative that helped to –
- Follow the rules and regulations of lockdown, issued by the government
- Avoid a complete break to the work
- Continue with an alternative to resume the company’s work, and
- Maintain coordination within all the employees and workers who are locked down in their homes
Thus, more and more companies started allowing their employees to work from home. It was also made sure to provide all the necessary resources to the employees to work from home.
Looking at the assumptions that medical experts are making about the coronavirus, it seems that our public life will take a long time to get back on normal. There will surely be some fundamental changes in our day-to-day public, social, and professional life from now onwards. And the idea of working from home will occupy a chief position in the decisions related to the professional field.
Decision of Facebook Remote Work
Considering all this, the decision of Facebook remote work came as no surprise, and yet as a huge surprise. When the various news updates about employees from tech giants like Facebook, Twitter getting infected by coronavirus broke out, people were really worried. And the discussions about the future working plans also began. Now, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook has become one of the first multinational companies to promote remote work.
They are not planning this for a limited time like others, but they are thinking about its implementation in the long run. The Facebook permanent work from home decision is going to allow more than half of its employees to work from home, in the coming years. Thus, Facebook has set an example in front of all the big and small companies worldwide, about how they should accept the ongoing situation, and deal with it.
Salaries of Facebook Remote Work Employees
A major aspect involved in this Facebook remote work idea will be the salary planning. If a huge number of Facebook employees are going to work from home, then the company will have to reconsider their salaries and payments. Because the employees who will be working remotely, will not be spending anything as their traveling-related expenses. So, their salaries will be redetermined and adjusted, based on the area/region where they live. So, if an employee is living in a kind of remote area which has a comparatively lower/affordable cost of living, then he will be paid lower.
If a person is living in an area with an unaffordable or expensive cost of living, he will get more salary. However, this does not seem to be a 100% applicable decision, because Facebook will have to keep in mind the rival company policies. And also, they will have to maintain a high pay to top positions in the company. Thus, the salary decisions of Facebook may be formatted and reformatted in the coming time. And it will be interesting to see what new ideas they come up with.
Future of Mark Zuckerberg Remote Work Plan?
Many big business and tech giants like Facebook were initially hesitant about encouraging remote work. Because it was thought the productivity of the employees will decrease if they are allowed to work from home. And this in turn, will affect the company’s profit. But as the situation worsened due to coronavirus outbreak, all the companies had to be shut down.
Employees were forced to stay in their homes. The physical safety and the health of the employees were also very important. They couldn’t take a risk in that matter. Thus, there was no other option but to allow working from home, if you wanted to continue your company’s work. So, even Facebook started implementing this, just like others.
But the outcomes of this decision were different from the assumptions and expectations. The employees showed good productivity and creativity even while working remotely. When their performance was assessed, it showed positive results beyond expectations. Thus, the companies were satisfied, and decided to go ahead with it. This happened in the case of Facebook also. As the employees worked very well for the Facebook remote work, the world’s leading tech giant has planned to make this a permanent decision.
Last Remarks on Work From Home
Working from home, or working remotely will have many advantages as well as disadvantages. But the advantages seem to be more powerful. Those companies whose work can be operated on computers, and a physical place is not essential, should allow more and more remote work. This will also help them to increase their recruitment capacity in the near future. Thus, the decision of Facebook permanent work from home will have a great impact on the various future decisions in this field. And it will inspire many others to do the same.