Zoom, the company that kept companies working remotely during COVID, had instituted a return-to-office policy that ends complete remote work for many employees while requiring that employees who can must come to the at least two days a week. Policies for hybrid work at Zoom may be an excellent example of how to do it.
The return to office movement is filled with ironies. One of the biggest is that Zoom, the platform that grew exponentially during the pandemic, is now calling employees back to the office. As it turns out, the Zoom approach to calling employees back could serve as a guide for reestablishing hybrid work for other companies.
Hybrid work at Zoom policies is hybrid work done right.
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Return-To-Office, Zoom Style
Unlike the case with Amazon and other tech giants who have issued RTO mandates, Zoom only requires employees within 50 miles of their office to return to the office 2 days a week. The request will only involve 34% of Zoom employees. Many workers were already returning to the office before the company set the new policy. Those who are now called back are encouraged to work with their managers to plan their time in the office.
When the return-to-work policy was first unveiled in August, Zoom employees were angry and concerned, in particular about the high cost of commuting. Since implementation, there have been few public rumblings among the staff. The reason is that Zoom stuck to the request for two days, respected employees’ preferences on which days they come on, and implemented a reasonable position for employees who lived farther away.
To facilitate collaboration and face time among remote employees, Zoom is also working with Upflex to provide local coworking spaces to any of the more than 60% of fully remote employees. “We’ll continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and dispersed teams connected and working efficiently. Additionally, we will continue to hire the best talent, regardless of location.”
Why Zoom Went Hybrid
The rationale for returning to the office is to collaborate and test products. As Alana Collins, who leads real estate and workplace at Zoom Ondo, conveys in an interview with Unleash, “What we have learned through our customer advocacy groups is that the world is now hybrid. We need to be able to adapt and learn.
“We want to walk that walk – we need to be in the office, testing our products, leveraging Zoom workspaces, and bringing teams together – innovation happens when people are together.”
Hybrid Work At Zoom Done Right
As many companies are now going to a hybrid work model, Zoom wants to better understand the needs for technology in a hybrid workplace. According to a spokesperson for Zoom USA quoted by ABC News, “We believe that a structured hybrid approach — meaning employees that live near an office need to be onsite two days a week to interact with their teams — is most effective for Zoom. As a company, we are in a better position to use our own technologies, continue to innovate, and support our global customers.”
As the Zoom representative reiterated, “We’ll continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and dispersed teams connected and working efficiently. Additionally, we will continue to hire the best talent, regardless of location,”
In 2020, as large numbers of people took to remote work, Zoom participants soared from 10 million at the end of 2019 to over 300 million. Its workforce grew 275% between July 2019 and October 2022. As people started to go back to work, Zoom usage decreased, so the company cut 15% of its workforce in February 2023.
The reduced business need for Zoom calls as a primary vehicle for collaboration diminished, but Zoom provided an infrastructure that made widespread hybrid work possible.
Within its own ranks, Zoom’s version incorporates flexibility with intentionality. The company has assessed its corporate needs and established remote work policies that consider employee needs. As nearly 60% of workers want to spend some time in the office, the plan meets the needs of most workers while addressing corporate concerns.
In examining the situation at Zoom, some may get stuck on the point that the company that facilitated remote work for many people is itself backing off from remote work. However, after adjusting to workforce reductions once the boom had passed, Zoom developed a reasonable plan for hybrid work.
