Reddit has become the latest company to make remote work a permanent option, even going so far as to unify employee pay as an added incentive.
As COVID-19 cases soar and push back many companies’ plans to return to the office, one after another has begun to permanently adopt remote work options. As early as May, Twitter announced it would allow employees to work from home permanently. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that employees will be able to work remotely for less than 50% of their schedule, with permanent remote work available with manager approval.
Dropbox announced one the most sweeping adoptions of remote work, transitioning to what it termed a “virtual first” company. It even went so far as to open source its Virtual First Toolkit in an effort to help other companies make the transition.
Now Reddit has announced it is embracing remote work permanently, giving employees the right to choose how they want to work.
“Moving forward, teams and team members will have flexibility to explore where they work: in the office, remotely, or a combination of the two,” reads the company’s blog. “There are some exceptions; we have some roles at Reddit that need to be performed from our offices or specific geographic locations, such as Facilities or IT Support. Ultimately, we empower our leaders and their teams to make those decisions, balancing the needs of the business and employees.”
In addition, the company is also doing away with its geographic compensation program. In the past, employees who choose to work remotely were paid less than employees working in the company’s offices. Moving forward, all employees’ pay will be based on the same scale.
“To help drive the idea home (pun intended), we’ve reimagined our approach to compensation in the US,” the blog continues. “To support employees to live where they want to and do their best work, we are eliminating geographic compensation zones in the US. It means that our US compensation will be tied to pay ranges of high-cost areas such as SF and NY, regardless of where employees live. We believe this is the right balance of flexibility and support for employees, recognizing the varied tradeoffs people consider when deciding where to live. Internationally, we have had one pay range per country, and now the US will be consistent with this approach.”
For those times when employees want or need to be in the office, the company is reimagining the office workspace, with private focus areas, community collaboration and relaxed, coffee shop-style seating. The company hopes this will help employees stay connected with corporate culture and their fellow workmates.
It’s safe to say Reddit is taking remote work farther than most, and just catapulted itself to the top of the ‘best place to work’ list.
