Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg plans to work remotely into 2022

In the same week that Apple faced a push back from its employees about being called back into the office three days a week from September, social media giant Facebook has also shared its future of work plans.

In a memo seen by the Wall Street Journal, Facebook announced that it would allow staff to apply to work from home as often as they like in the post-pandemic future — if their role allows them to do so.

This is in line with comments Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made in May 2020 when he followed in the footsteps of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in stating that most employees would be allowed to work from home permanently. At the same time, Zuckerberg noted he expected half of Facebook’s workforce to work fully remotely in the next decade.

Originally it was reported that senior managers with strong performance reviews would be prioritized, but this latest announcement means that fully remote work will be available to all of Facebook’s 60,000 staff, including entry-level employees.

However, if Facebook employees do not complete a remote working application, the company will expect them return to the office at least half of the working week once the offices re-open.

Facebook plans to open its US offices at half capacity from September, and then fully in October. It remains unclear when the company may re-open its offices elsewhere in the world.

Zuckerberg has decided to lead by example and announced he himself will be working remotely for at least another year.

He wrote in a memo to employees: “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.”

In addition, CNN reported that Facebook has decided to allow expand its employees’ ability to work across borders. For instance, US employees would be able to work remotely in Canada, while staff based in Europe or the Middle East would be able to work from the UK.

There seems to be no mention of whether moving location will affect an individual’s compensation.

Facebook had previously suggested that any employees who decided to relocate out of the San Francisco Bay area, where its HQ is located, could face a pay cut adjusted to their new cost of living.