Twitter makes working from home mandatory due to coronavirus pandemic

Twitter has made working from home mandatory for all its workers around the globe following the spread of the new coronavirus. 

The social media giant announced the policy in a blog post on Thursday, following the World Health Organisation’s characterization of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as a pandemic.

“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our Tweeps, and we also have a responsibility to support our communities, those who are vulnerable, and the healthcare providers who are on the front lines of this pandemic,” read Twitter’s statement.

“We understand this is an unprecedented step, but these are unprecedented times.”

The company described the move as moving beyond its initial recommendation of “strongly encouraging” employees to work from home following the coronavirus outbreak. Twitter currently has over 35 offices worldwide, and according to Statista, employs around 4,900 people.

According to Twitter’s blog post, the company said it will continue to pay labor costs for standard working hours for contractors and hourly workers who are not able to perform their duties from home — Twitter is not the only tech company to announce a policy like this. 

The company also noted that it would be “stepping in to ease additional expenses” for parents who may need to pay for additional daycare if facilities they use now were closed due to COVID-19. Twitter also said it would be giving reimbursement to employees toward setting up their home offices, which could include desks, chairs, and ergonomic chair cushions. Plus the company will bring back its in-house #FlockTalk program which is “activated when Tweeps want to come together during difficult times to share what’s going on with them, find community, and be heard by our leaders.”

Twitter’s move comes a day after Google asked tens of thousands of its workers in the U.S. and Canada to work from home for at least a month. Google also recommended that employees in Europe work from home.

According to the World Health Organisation, the global count of confirmed COVID-19 cases is currently at 124,518, with 4,607 deaths.