"Work is at the office, not home"… US Big Tech Ends Remote Work

US COVID Endemic Marks Remote Work Decline
600,000 Returned to Offices Last Month... Many in IT Industry

With the COVID-19 endemic as a turning point, the trend of remote work among American companies is rapidly fading.

On the 11th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) cited an analysis by commercial real estate services company JLL, reporting that more than 600,000 American workers returned to the office or decided to return just last month. This marks a trend of returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The most noticeable change is occurring in information and communication technology (IT) companies, including Silicon Valley big tech firms. In the IT sector, 200,000 workers returned to the office last month, and an additional 85,000 are expected to return by September.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the IT industry was the most proactive in expanding remote work, but it has shown a dramatic change within a year. According to WSJ, these companies concluded that "working in the office is more productive and cost-efficient."

Meta: "Work in the office at least three days a week"

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms
Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier this month, Meta issued guidelines requiring employees to come to the office at least three days a week starting in September.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, previously stated that "engineers who have office work experience perform better than those who have only worked remotely from the start," which contrasts with his early COVID-19 remarks that "working remotely increases productivity."

Ride-sharing service company Lyft, considered a rival to Uber, encouraged remote work without time limits from anywhere employees wanted last year. However, after laying off more than 1,000 employees in April this year, it mandated three days a week office attendance for all employees except for certain job categories.

It is also notable that workers are accepting returning to the office. Analysts suggest that as signs of economic slowdown continue this year and mass layoffs in the IT industry follow, employees are reluctantly returning to the office out of concern that they might be targeted for layoffs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.