The company synonymous with remote work is now joining the growing trend of returning to the office.
Zoom, the pioneering video conferencing company, is implementing a new policy that requires employees living within a 50-mile radius of its offices to work onsite two days a week, as confirmed by a company spokesperson via email. The spokesperson stated that Zoom believes a “structured hybrid approach” is the most effective, where employees near an office interact with their teams onsite for two days a week.
This new policy is set to be introduced in August and September and was first reported by the New York Times. According to the report, Zoom’s CEO, Eric Yuan, addressed employee concerns about the policy during a recent Zoom meeting.
Zoom, headquartered in San Jose, California, experienced tremendous growth in the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic as companies and individuals adopted remote work and virtual gatherings. However, this growth has slowed down as the pandemic situation improved.
The stock value of Zoom Video Communications Inc. has significantly declined since its peak in October 2020, dropping from $559 per share to below $70 on Tuesday. Shares have experienced over a 10% decline at the beginning of August. In February, Zoom had to lay off about 15% of its workforce, which amounted to around 1,300 employees.
Notable companies like Google, Salesforce, and Amazon have also adjusted their return-to-office strategies, despite facing resistance from certain employees.
Much like Zoom, these companies are adopting a part-time office attendance model, reflecting the enduring influence of hybrid work from the pandemic. According to Kastle Systems, which monitors office occupancy through entry swipes, the average weekly office occupancy rate in ten major U.S. cities has hovered around 50% since January, occasionally dipping below that threshold during the summer months.
