Twitter Inc is \u201cstrongly encouraging\u201d its almost 5,000 global employees to work from home due to concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the company said Monday.<\/p>\n
The social media company made the suggestion as part of a blog update one day after it suspended all non-critical travel for workers, including pulling out of the South by Southwest conference scheduled for later this month in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
Twitter says it\u2019s mandatory for employees in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea to work from home, but that other offices will remain open for those who choose or need to come in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working to make sure internal meetings, all hands, and other important tasks are optimized for remote participation,\u201d the company wrote on its blog.<\/p>\n
Twitter\u2019s policy on working from home is a step beyond what most companies in the US are doing as the virus spreads. Many, including AT&T Inc and Citigroup Inc, have restricted international travel, especially to Asia.<\/p>\n
Others including Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc\u2019s Google have postponed or canceled conferences in the US, and Facebook joined Twitter Monday in pulling out of South by Southwest.<\/p>\n
But Twitter\u2019s suggestion for remote work is more reminiscent of what companies did in Asia as the virus swept the region.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s probably because chief executive officer Jack Dorsey is a big proponent of remote work, and has already announced plans to spend as much as six months working from Africa in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this is a big change for us, we have already been moving toward a more distributed workforce that\u2019s increasingly remote,\u201d Twitter wrote Monday.<\/p>\n
Square Inc, the other public company that Dorsey leads, is also asking employees to work from home.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Square executive Aaron Zamost wrote in a tweet that the company is implementing a \u201cstrongly encouraged work-from-home policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
A handful of Twitter workers tweeted praise for the decision, applauding Dorsey for prioritizing employee health.<\/p>\n
Many of their tweets included the hashtag #webackjack, doubling as support for a CEO under attack from activist investors who may try to replace him.<\/p>\n
\nStarting tomorrow, we’re taking a number of proactive steps at Square to help mitigate the spread of Coronavirus. We believe this is the right thing to do for both our team and the broader global community.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Aaron Zamost (@zamosta) March 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n