Office software giant Salesforce will let employees work remotely till at least year’s end, it said Monday. The San Francisco firm said earlier that its workers would have the option of working from home through at least the end of July.
However, Salesforce said it would start bringing workers back to its headquarters offices in the city’s tallest building next month. A “phased reopening” process worldwide will see employees coming back to desks as local COVID-safety conditions allow, the company said.
“Offices will gradually reopen from 20% to 75% capacity, depending on the COVID data rating and local guidance,” Salesforce said in a news release. “In this stage, we will welcome both vaccinated and non-vaccinated employees, and we will continue to follow safety protocols and provide testing where possible.”
Most of the 17 offices Salesforce has opened under the first stage are in the Asia-Pacific region, the company said.
Returning employees will find re-designed lobbies, elevators and conference rooms, rearranged furniture, touch-free handles and sensors, plexiglass between desks, and air purifiers in conference rooms, along with “more collaborative spaces,” Salesforce said.
On Monday, Salesforce said it had been successful at serving customers and operating its business under a remote-work model. “We’re not going back to the way it was,” the company said. Earlier, Salesforce had announced its “Success from Anywhere” plan, saying 65% of its workers will be on a “flex” schedule and come into offices one to three days a week for meetings with colleagues or customers and for presentations. Employees who don’t live near offices or need to be in an office will be able to stay remote full time, while a small number will go to the office four to five days per week if their jobs require it, the company said.
While the firm’s statement Monday referred to offices opening at 100% capacity, it was not immediately clear whether the company plans to use less office space in the future because so many employees will spend significant time working remotely.
Salesforce also referred Monday to planned “Volunteer Vaccinated Cohorts” in some U.S. offices, starting with those in the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and offices in Palo Alto and Irvine. “To start, fully vaccinated employees will be able to volunteer to join groups of 100 or fewer people to work on designated floors in certain offices, following safety protocols and health mandates,” Salesforce said.
It was not immediately clear how the office-work situation of those vaccinated volunteers might differ from that of non-vaccinated employees. This article will be updated if Salesforce answers questions about that volunteer program and its plans for office space in the future.
Among other local technology companies announcing re-opening plans, Facebook said last month it would start reopening Bay Area offices in May on a rolling basis depending on local COVID data, while Uber opened its new San Francisco headquarters building March 29.
Facebook had previously given employees world-wide until July 2 to continue working from home, and is now moving to a site-by-site approach, it said. Uber, which had earlier extended its remote-work option until Sept. 13, said it would open its new headquarters at 20% capacity on a voluntary basis.
Google most recently said employees could work from home until September, and Twitter has said many workers can choose to be remote forever.
