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szdaily -> Speak Shenzhen -> 
Microsoft makes remote work option permanent
    2020-10-13  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Microsoft has told staff that they will have the option of working from home permanently with manager approval.

The move mimics the U.S. tech giant’s rivals Facebook and Twitter, which have also said remote work would be a permanent option.

It follows a rapid shift away from office working prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many companies are reconsidering how much office space they need, expecting a long-term increase in remote staff.

Microsoft said some roles will continue to require an in-person presence, such as those needing access to hardware, the firm added. But many staff will also be able to work from home part-time, without needing formal approval from their managers.

Many employers hailed the shift initially as being surprisingly productive. But as the months have passed, some of the drawbacks have emerged.

For example, at a conference this month, Microsoft’s own chief executive Satya Nadella said the lack of division between private life and work life meant “it sometimes feels like you are sleeping at work.”

As companies look beyond the pandemic, Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom said many are eyeing policies that combine two days a week at home with three days of office time, which will remain important for meetings, building company culture and loyalty and basic mental health.

“The radical extremes — so, full-time in the office or full-time at home — are not ideal for most people,” he said.

But he said he did not expect the pre-pandemic office to return.

“The Microsoft statement is completely in line with everything I’ve been hearing,” he said. “There’s pretty much uniform consensus now that the pandemic has permanently shifted the way we work.”

A Willis Towers Watson survey of U.S. employers in May found that they expected 22 percent of staff to continue working from home after the pandemic, up from just 7 percent in 2019. About 55 percent of employers said they expected staff to work from home at least one day a week after concerns about the virus passes, a PWC survey found. And more than 80 percent of employees said they supported that idea.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【缺点】quēdiǎn drawback a disadvantage or problem

【符合】fúhé in line with in agreement with

微软公司告知员工,如果得到管理人员的批准,他们可以选择永久性在家办公。

此举效仿了这家美国科技巨头的竞争对手脸书和推特,脸书和推特已表示员工可以选择永久远程办公。

在此之前,由于新冠疫情暴发,人们的工作地点从办公室迅速转移到家中。

许多公司预计远程办公人员的数量将会长期增长,因此正重新考虑所需的办公空间。

微软公司还表示,一些职位仍将需要来办公室上班,比如硬件相关职位。但许多员工也可以在家兼职,而这不需要得到管理人员的正式批准。

起初,许多雇主称赞这一转变的成效令人惊讶。但几个月过去了,一些缺点也浮现出来。

例如,在本月的一次会议上,微软首席执行官萨蒂亚▪纳德拉表示,私人生活和工作之间缺乏区分,意味着“有时感觉就像你在工作时睡觉”。

斯坦福大学经济学教授尼古拉斯▪布鲁姆表示,随着企业将目光投向疫情之后,许多企业正着眼于每周两天在家办公、三天在办公室上班等政策,这对于举行会议、建立企业文化和忠诚度,以及基本的心理健康仍然十分重要。

布鲁姆表示:“对于大多数人来说,全职在办公室工作或全职在家办公这样的极端做法并不理想。”

不过,他说,他认为我们回不到疫情前的办公状态。

他说:“微软的声明和我听到的完全一致。现在人们几乎一致认为,新冠疫情永久性地改变了我们的工作方式。”

韦莱韬悦今年5月对美国雇主进行的一项调查发现,他们预计22%的员工在疫情结束后将继续在家办公,而2019年这一比例仅为7%。

普华永道的一项调查发现,约55%的雇主表示,在对病毒的担忧消除后,他们预计员工每周至少有一天在家工作。超过80%的员工表示支持这个想法。(chinadaily.com.cn)

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