The tech industry’s honeymoon with remote work is coming to a close, as Snap joins other notable companies in doing away with the flexible policy.
At the start of the pandemic, tech giants like Snap were all too happy to jump on board the work-from-home boom. The infamously innovative industry paved the way for remote work, eventually spurring on the new normal of flexibility when it comes to your commute.
However, with a recession looming and tech layoffs abound, many companies have rescinded the previously flexible remote work policies, demanding employees return to the office for the majority of the week. And now, Snap has joined the fray.
Snap Employees Must Return to Office
In a company memo obtained by Bloomberg, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel informed employees that they would be required to be in the office at least four days per week. The update will apply to all 30 of Snap’s offices across the world and will go into effect in February of next year.
As for the reasons why, Spiegel is simply parroting the common line the productivity just isn’t the same with employees working from home.
“I believe that spending more time together in person will help us to achieve our full potential.” – Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap
The policy change comes after Snap has struggled in recent months, reporting low quarterly revenue growth, with only 6% quarterly sales growth in late October, the lowest ever in the company’s history. Will a return to office actually help? Spiegel certainly seems to think so.
“We’ve forgotten what we’ve lost — and what we could gain — by spending more time together.”
This news is particularly unfortunate for the remote work movement, as Snap was one of the first and most generous adapters of the work from home policy. Snap now joins Twitter, who also revoked remote work status for its employees under the new owner, as some of the pioneers of remote work that have rebuked their previous work from home plans.
Is Remote Work Dead?
More and more companies are demanding that employees return to the office. So, the question remains: will this former paradigm shift end up as nothing more than an extended vacation from terrible commutes and boring company culture?
If you’ve gotten used to working from home, rest assured that your flexible work schedule probably isn’t going anywhere. While tech giants have made a stink about productivity and returning to the office, the majority of businesses are sticking with their remote work policies and have no plans to change them. Even better, the numbers back them up.
78% of CEOs say that remote work is here to stay and working from home continues to be the number one priority for top talent, which means that removing this policy is going to do a lot more harm than good.
Still, you need to make sure your business is equipped to effectively manage remote workers, which is where business tools can really help. Web conferencing and project management software can go a long way in facilitating productivity, while password managers and VPNs are excellent for maintaining a secure system with employees working from home.
