LinkedIn allows employees to work fully remote, reverses course

Professional networking platform LinkedIn has now decided that it will allow most of its employees to opt for full-time remote work as offices gradually reopen, Chief People Officer Teuila Hanson told.

This new policy from LinkedIn is a reversal of the company's initial indication last October that employees would be expected to work from an office 50% of the time, when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.

This new policy which asks employees to work remotely full-time or work at an office part-time, will apply to LinkedIn`s global workforce of more than 16,000 employees.

"We anticipate that we`ll definitely see more remote employees than what we saw prior to the pandemic," Hanson said in an interview ahead of the announcement, adding that some jobs would require in-office work.

Hanson further added that LinkedIn does not need employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to return to the office against other tech companies such as Facebook and Google that have responded to a rise in US COVID-19 cases by requiring shots.

LinkedIn employees who changed locations will also be able to see their pay adjusted based on the local market where they`re based, said Greg Snapper, director of corporate communications.

The tech industry was among the first to allow employees to work from home when COVID-19 hit the US last year. But the extent to which tech companies are embracing permanent remote work is now diverging.

LinkedIn`s openness to remote work stands in contrast to some Silicon Valley tech giants` comparatively hard-line stances on returning to the office. Apple announced it will require most employees to work from the office three days per week starting in October, while Alphabet`s Google expects 60% of its global workforce to return to the office at least part-time.

LinkedIn is in the process of reopening its global offices based on COVID-19 infection rates in each location.