Airbnb will not require its employees to return to the office as COVID-19 restrictions ease and said remote work could become permanent.
The company told employees on Thursday that they can work remotely permanently and can relocate anywhere within the country they currently work. This will not affect wages and benefits, the company said. This means the company will not reduce wages if an employee chooses to move to a city where the cost of living is lower.
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Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Cheskyinformed employees of the changes in an email outlining the new policies and expectations. He noted that the permanent flexibility will allow the company to “hire and retain the best people in the world,” not just those “around our offices.” Airbnb said it has 6,000 employees worldwide, with more than 3,000 in the United States.
Chesky told employees to talk to managers before the move about expectations. He also noted that “a small number of employees will need to be in the office or at a specific location to perform their core job responsibilities.”
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Chesky is a proponent of remote work that allows people to be constantly on the move, and that applies to Airbnb employees as well. In January, he announced that he would be living in Airbnbs, staying in other people’s homes on his platform so he could move from city to city every few weeks. Chesky said at the time that he believed the biggest travel trend in 2022 would be “people spreading out across thousands of cities and staying for weeks, months, or even entire seasons.”
“More people will start living abroad, others will travel all summer and some will leave their homes and become digital nomads,” he said.
Now, Chesky is allowing Airbnb employees to do the same, thanks to permanent remote work (if they want to, of course). He encouraged those who want to stay in other countries for an extended period of time (although that will be possible starting in September). The Airbnb CEO stressed that there should be a permanent address for tax and payroll purposes. “Most companies don’t do that because of the complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zones.”
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“Flexibility only works when you trust the people on your team,” Chesky said. “You’ve shown how much you can accomplish remotely. Over the past two years, we’ve weathered the pandemic, rebuilt the company from the ground up, gone public, revamped our entire service, and reported record profits, all while working remotely,” the email to employees said.
Source: edition.cnn.com
