Twitter CEO Says Employees Can Work from Home 'Forever' — Even After Pandemic

Employees whose jobs require them to be physically present, such as those who maintain the server, will still have to show up, says Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

Jack Dorsey. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, is allowing employees to permanently work from home, according to an email he sent out on Tuesday.

In the email, which was obtained by BuzzFeed, Dorsey, 43, told workers they could continue to work from home even after the coronavirus pandemic has ended. The announcement was also made in a press release on Twitter's blog.

"If our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen," the blog reads. "If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel it’s safe to return."

Employees whose jobs require them to be physically present, such as those who maintain the server, will still have to show up to the offices, which Dorsey said in the email will not open before September.

For employees who feel more comfortable at home, Dorsey said their work from home supply allowance would be increased to $1,000, according to BuzzFeed.

Jack Dorsey. Jack Dorsey/Newspix/Getty Images

The company also confirmed on their blog that all business travel — aside from few exceptions — is canceled through September and any in-person events are canceled for the remainder of the year.

"Opening offices will be our decision, when and if our employees come back, will be theirs," the blog reads. "When we do decide to open offices, it also won’t be a snap back to the way it was before. It will be careful, intentional, office by office and gradual."

In a statement to BuzzFeed, a Twitter spokesperson said, "We've been very thoughtful in how we've approached this from the time we were one of the first companies to move to a work-from-home model. We'll continue to be, and we'll continue to put the safety of our people and communities first."

When contacted for an additional statement, a spokesperson for Twitter directed PEOPLE to their blog.

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The announcement comes two months after Twitter began working from home as the coronavirus was rapidly spreading around the United States, according to their blog.

On March 2, the company was "strongly encouraging work from home" but transitioned their stance to mandatory work from home by March 11.

At the time, Twitter human resources head Jennifer Christie told BuzzFeed that the company would "never probably be the same."

"People who were reticent to work remotely will find that they really thrive that way," Christie explained to the outlet. "Managers who didn’t think they could manage teams that were remote will have a different perspective. I do think we won’t go back."

Dorsey also hinted at a potentially permanent work-from-home situation in February, revealing on an earnings call that he was planning to transition the company to a "distributed" workforce "that’s not entirely dependent on [their headquarters in] San Francisco."

"As we look forward we’re reaching a talent pool that expects a lot more remote work," he said, according to CNBC. "We should be building our company around that."

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