Even Zoom is making its employees return to the office

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Today we’re spotlighting an announcement by Zoom, the company that powered the remote-work revolution during the Covid-19 pandemic, that it wants its employees to come back to the office. This move marks the latest in recent mandates by tech giants and other employers to shift away from the full-time work-from-home trend.?

WHAT IS HAPPENING:?

• Zoom says it’s now enforcing a “structured hybrid approach,” meaning that employees who live near an office must return to it for a “set number of days”?because it’s “most effective” for the video-conferencing service.
• “We’ll continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and dispersed teams connected and working efficiently,” the company says in a statement.
• The video-conferencing service was pivotal in the early days of the pandemic, as many turned to its platform to video chat with friends and colleagues. By mid-2020, Zoom reported skyrocketing revenue fueled by demand from business customers turning to remote work.

ZOOM’S UP AND DOWNS:

• Zoom faced difficulties as demand for its product waned and workers across the world returned to the office. In February, Zoom cut approximately 15% of its staff — about 1,300 employees –? after growing too quickly.?
• The company's executive leadership team reduced their base salaries by 20% for the coming fiscal year and forfeited their fiscal 2023 bonuses.
• Shares of the company are up about 4% for the year.

BIG PICTURE:

• In recent months, Google, Amazon and Salesforce have enacted similar policies, ending a Covid-era approach that gave employees more freedom to work from home. Businesses, however, have faced pushback from employees who grew accustomed to greater flexibility.
• Last week, the White House asked Cabinet agencies to bring federal workers back into the office more frequently in coming months, according to an internal email obtained by CNN.
• The email, sent to Cabinet secretaries by White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, cites the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency and the benefit of increased productivity from in-person work.
• House Republicans have also taken aim at federal teleworking policy, passing the SHOW UP Act that would force agencies to reinstate pre-pandemic work policies.

What do you think about mandates to go back into the office? Would a hybrid schedule work for you? Do you feel more productive at home or in the office? Share your stories in the comments.?

Here are some other stories we're following today:

“Barbie” crossed the $1B mark over the weekend, making Greta Gerwig the first female director ever to cross the milestone. Only about 50 films in history have hit the billion-dollar mark, according to an analyst with Comscore; "Barbie" did it in just its first three weeks.?

The US women’s soccer team was knocked out of the World Cup yesterday in a penalty shootout with Sweden. The US has never before failed to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, and much has been made of their performance this year. By all measures, though, the US was the more dominant team, leading Sweden in time of possession and shots on goal.?

American gymnast Simone Biles made a triumphant return to the mat over the weekend, competing in the Core Hydration Classic in Illinois. Biles claimed first place in the all-around, vault, floor routine and balance beam; she placed third in the uneven bars. It was her first competitive event since pulling out of several events during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says "of course" Donald Trump lost the 2020 election — his most direct comments on the matter in nearly three years since the former president's defeat. DeSantis has largely ducked questions on the issue, but has also been trying to set himself apart from Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. In other news, a slew of “anti-woke” bills that DeSantis signed into law appear to be costing Florida millions of dollars in lost business.

A federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump's counter-defamation lawsuit against columnist E. Jean Carroll, dealing another legal blow to the former president, who faces three federal indictments and a potential fourth indictment in Georgia related to the 2020 election.

Tou Thao, the former Minneapolis police officer who held back the crowd during George Floyd's fatal arrest, was sentenced to over 4 years in prison. Thao is already serving 3.5 years after being convicted on civil rights charges in connection with Floyd's death. Today's sentencing marks the end of state and federal trials tied to Floyd's 2020 death.

More gay men can now donate blood as the Red Cross implements new FDA guidance that includes behavior assessments, not just sexual orientation. Previous guidance dated back to the AIDS epidemic, before updates to blood screening.

?? Stay plugged in

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