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Abstract

ity to develop technology: Zuckerberg believes that remote collaboration will give Facebook’s engineers new insights into how to advance its virtual and augmented reality technology (VR/AR).</li><li>More equality: Employees have reported that remote work feels more “egalitarian” than before.</li><li>Greater workplace diversity and economic opportunity for people worldwide.</li></ul><h1 id="ef9e">3. Facebook employees reveal their biggest challenges and remote work pain points.</h1><p id="c37d">While Zuckerberg cited numerous benefits to remote work in his call, he also discussed the many challenges he and his employees have been facing. He seemed especially concerned with helping people bond remotely, while maintaining a strong company culture and sustaining creative output among remote teams. Other reported downsides to working from home include:</p><ul><li>Difficulties working from home with kids;</li><li>Challenges setting boundaries between work and personal life (and finding a healthy work-life balance);</li><li>Harder to onboard new hires (from both the company’s and employees’ perspective);</li><li>Loneliness: People miss face-to-face interaction.</li></ul><h1 id="5e73">4. Key findings from Facebook’s company-wide survey.</h1><p id="67e2">Facebook employees seem split on staying home or returning to the office. But out of those who prefer to keep working remotely, many are interested in moving somewhere new. Here are more stats from the survey:</p><ul><li>40% of employees want to work remotely full-time: 20% reported being “very or extremely” interested while 20% were “somewhat” interested.</li><li>More than 50% of employees wanted to return to the office “as soon as possible.”</li><li>60% of employees asked for the flexibility to choose when they work from home or the office.</li><li>75% of employees who want to work remotely are also interested in moving. 38% want to go to a new city, while others would choose a more rural area.</li><li>Tenured employees were 2x more likely to want to work remotely versus their less experienced counterparts.</li><li>30% of managers said they would “definitely” support fully-remote teams. 30% said “probably,” and 10% said, “definitely not.”</li></ul><p id="748d">Notably, there was no distinction in remote work preferences by gender, which Zuckerberg appeared encouraged by.</p><h1 id="1bf1">5. There are many long-term remote work questions to resolve.</h1><figure id="bc86"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*M_Pio11nn4Dlkksy5lHEaw.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@by_syeoni?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Suhyeon Choi</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/t/work-from-home?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="313c">While the benefits of remote work are promising, Zuckerberg acknowledged that it could take years for his company and the world to understand how best to implement remote work policies on a widespread scale. He posed the following open-ended questions for viewers to contemplate:</p><ul><li>What if remote work is “harder” than traditional work?</li><li>What are the best practices in building a strong remote company culture?</li><li>How do companies encourage creativity in a remote context?</li><li>How can companies ensure consistent growth opportunities for employees’ remote

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career paths and facilitate equal opportunities for career advancement?</li><li>How can companies prevent remote work conditions from disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups?</li><li>What is the best way to ensure diversity and inclusion across teams?</li><li>How should remote training and onboarding work — especially with college grads and entry-level employees who may need more attention?</li><li>What will the offices of the future look like? And how do companies “allocate desks to people who don’t want to use them?”</li><li>What are the economics of remote work? Will there be cost-savings or added expenses?</li><li>How can companies enable flexibility without incurring both remote and non-remote operating costs at the same time?</li><li>How can co-workers feel a connection and presence from wherever they are?</li></ul><p id="88f8">Surely, established remote-first companies like <a href="undefined">Zapier</a>, <a href="undefined">Doist</a>, and <a href="undefined">GitLab</a> will have opinions on how to solve some of Zuckerberg’s problems. But, although <a href="https://readmedium.com/its-time-for-companies-to-embrace-remote-work-40d1a0caa01e">teleworking has been around for more than 50 years</a>, the business community has yet to establish a set of best practices that works across industries.</p><h1 id="230d">What’s next for remote work? Uncertainty, optimism, controversy, and opportunities.</h1><p id="0969" type="7">“We don’t know when the office will come back.”</p><p id="6d14">Overall, Zuckerberg seemed optimistic about the prospect of transitioning to a more remote model at Facebook. However, he acknowledged that it wouldn’t be without some yet-unknown struggles and a steep learning curve. Although 100% remote work may be “easier” than hybrid remote work, the transition could get expensive and complicated. Facebook wants to keep their offices without duplicating expenses to support remote workers. At the same time, the company will be expanding its remote recruitment efforts throughout the U.S. and Canada.</p><p id="d2f3">In addition to recruitment, Facebook seems to be focusing on improving existing technology (specifically VR and AR) while seizing the opportunity to develop tools that facilitate remote work and employee interaction.</p><p id="ceae">When it comes to workplace flexibility, Zuckerberg reiterated that personal freedom is secondary to the good of the collective. Above all, employee perks must align with the company’s objectives (which likely include meeting revenue goals and pleasing shareholders).</p><p id="e5a9">Facebook may be influential, but it’s a novice at remote work. The company’s first misstep is in calculating remote employee salaries. People who move out of the Bay Area during the pandemic will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (read: reduction) in their paychecks — a controversial move.</p><p id="d8f7">Facebook hopes to provide more clarity on its remote work policies as it learns the answers to its questions. Will they need to hire more or fewer employees if everyone works remotely? How much will people travel? Will expenses increase or decrease? How much office space will the company need? “We just don’t know,” Zuckerberg says.</p><p id="30b2">In the meantime, newly remote organizations should gather inspiration and advice from established remote companies that <i>do</i> know what to do — before implementing any new policies.</p></article></body>

Facebook’s Remote Work Strategy for 2020 and Beyond

Highlights and insights from Zuckerberg’s live employee address

Facebook was one of the first companies to implement remote work at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, advising its nearly 50,000 employees to start working from home as early as March 6.

More than ten weeks later, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has posted a status update sharing how his employees have adapted to working from home. He also disclosed details on Facebook’s long-term remote work strategy, goals, and challenges in a one-hour public town hall.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the call, where he explained how his company will implement a “thoughtful and measured approach” to adopting remote work over the coming decade.

1. Half of Facebook’s workforce will be remote within 5–10 years.

Although 95% of Facebook’s employees are allowed to work from home through the end of 2020, that won’t be the case forever. Zuckerberg said that the company is keeping its existing real estate and looking forward to reopening offices as soon as possible — even at partial capacity.

Regardless, Zuckerberg acknowledged that remote work is here to stay. He considers Facebook to be a “north star” for other companies to follow, although he was adamant that Facebook’s priority is to do what’s best for the company — not individual employees.

Beginning January 1, 2021, experienced employees (Level 5 and above) can request permanent remote work status if they have strong performance reviews and if it “makes sense” for the company. Exceptions will include recent college graduates, new hires, and anyone whose job requires them to be at a physical location, such as data center technicians, hardware developers, and some HR, sales, and legal roles. Content reviewers who need mental health support will also need to stay on-site.

“What will enable us to serve our community best and unlock innovation?” — Mark Zuckerberg

2. These are the main benefits of remote work — according to Facebook.

Higher employee productivity: Despite initial concerns around remote work and oversight, productivity at Facebook has been at least as high (if not higher) than it was before.
A positive environmental impact: Zuckerberg cited the ecological benefits of commuting less, and referenced the 17% drop in global emissions since the pandemic began.
Better quality of life for employees: People have more time to reinvest in their personal lives and overall well-being.
Improved ability to develop technology: Zuckerberg believes that remote collaboration will give Facebook’s engineers new insights into how to advance its virtual and augmented reality technology (VR/AR).
More equality: Employees have reported that remote work feels more “egalitarian” than before.
Greater workplace diversity and economic opportunity for people worldwide.

3. Facebook employees reveal their biggest challenges and remote work pain points.

While Zuckerberg cited numerous benefits to remote work in his call, he also discussed the many challenges he and his employees have been facing. He seemed especially concerned with helping people bond remotely, while maintaining a strong company culture and sustaining creative output among remote teams. Other reported downsides to working from home include:

Difficulties working from home with kids;
Challenges setting boundaries between work and personal life (and finding a healthy work-life balance);
Harder to onboard new hires (from both the company’s and employees’ perspective);
Loneliness: People miss face-to-face interaction.

4. Key findings from Facebook’s company-wide survey.

Facebook employees seem split on staying home or returning to the office. But out of those who prefer to keep working remotely, many are interested in moving somewhere new. Here are more stats from the survey:

40% of employees want to work remotely full-time: 20% reported being “very or extremely” interested while 20% were “somewhat” interested.
More than 50% of employees wanted to return to the office “as soon as possible.”
60% of employees asked for the flexibility to choose when they work from home or the office.
75% of employees who want to work remotely are also interested in moving. 38% want to go to a new city, while others would choose a more rural area.
Tenured employees were 2x more likely to want to work remotely versus their less experienced counterparts.
30% of managers said they would “definitely” support fully-remote teams. 30% said “probably,” and 10% said, “definitely not.”

Notably, there was no distinction in remote work preferences by gender, which Zuckerberg appeared encouraged by.

5. There are many long-term remote work questions to resolve.

While the benefits of remote work are promising, Zuckerberg acknowledged that it could take years for his company and the world to understand how best to implement remote work policies on a widespread scale. He posed the following open-ended questions for viewers to contemplate:

What if remote work is “harder” than traditional work?
What are the best practices in building a strong remote company culture?
How do companies encourage creativity in a remote context?
How can companies ensure consistent growth opportunities for employees’ remote career paths and facilitate equal opportunities for career advancement?
How can companies prevent remote work conditions from disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups?
What is the best way to ensure diversity and inclusion across teams?
How should remote training and onboarding work — especially with college grads and entry-level employees who may need more attention?
What will the offices of the future look like? And how do companies “allocate desks to people who don’t want to use them?”
What are the economics of remote work? Will there be cost-savings or added expenses?
How can companies enable flexibility without incurring both remote and non-remote operating costs at the same time?
How can co-workers feel a connection and presence from wherever they are?

Surely, established remote-first companies like Zapier, Doist, and GitLab will have opinions on how to solve some of Zuckerberg’s problems. But, although teleworking has been around for more than 50 years, the business community has yet to establish a set of best practices that works across industries.

What’s next for remote work? Uncertainty, optimism, controversy, and opportunities.

“We don’t know when the office will come back.”

Overall, Zuckerberg seemed optimistic about the prospect of transitioning to a more remote model at Facebook. However, he acknowledged that it wouldn’t be without some yet-unknown struggles and a steep learning curve. Although 100% remote work may be “easier” than hybrid remote work, the transition could get expensive and complicated. Facebook wants to keep their offices without duplicating expenses to support remote workers. At the same time, the company will be expanding its remote recruitment efforts throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In addition to recruitment, Facebook seems to be focusing on improving existing technology (specifically VR and AR) while seizing the opportunity to develop tools that facilitate remote work and employee interaction.

When it comes to workplace flexibility, Zuckerberg reiterated that personal freedom is secondary to the good of the collective. Above all, employee perks must align with the company’s objectives (which likely include meeting revenue goals and pleasing shareholders).

Facebook may be influential, but it’s a novice at remote work. The company’s first misstep is in calculating remote employee salaries. People who move out of the Bay Area during the pandemic will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (read: reduction) in their paychecks — a controversial move.

Facebook hopes to provide more clarity on its remote work policies as it learns the answers to its questions. Will they need to hire more or fewer employees if everyone works remotely? How much will people travel? Will expenses increase or decrease? How much office space will the company need? “We just don’t know,” Zuckerberg says.

In the meantime, newly remote organizations should gather inspiration and advice from established remote companies that do know what to do — before implementing any new policies.