More than half (55%) of FAANG Employees Do Not Want Fully Remote Work
COVID-19 has forced companies all over the world to adapt to and embrace remote work—at least for the short term. And although the transition to working from home was a bit turbulent for some organizations, many companies are now figuring out that working remotely is the future of work—pandemic or not. However, on Blind, professionals across Silicon Valley’s most prestigious firms do not share this sentiment.
An Engineer at Apple posted, “FAANG employees should PRAY that most companies do not go full remote. When companies commit to being onsite at particular locations, such as the bay area or seattle, it limits the competition pool to people who are able and willing to abandon family & friends and move to these places. This keeps competition somewhat limited. If all the companies go remote, you will now have to compete with other candidates all across the USA and (to a lesser extent) around the world. We are already seeing this with harder interviews and lower offer success rates. For those of you currently on the west coast, you should PRAY TO GOD that most companies do not go full remote.”
He followed up with a poll and asked other Blind users if they agreed or disagreed. Here are the key learnings as of 11/18
- 55% of tech professionals agree that FAANG should not go full remote
- Outside of FAANG, 55% of Microsoft professionals agree
You can access the raw data here.
A Facebook employee responded to the poll saying, “My pre covid answer: Most of the talent already lives in HCOL cities. Sure, you’ll have a random in Kentucky that can code, but tech companies have been chasing talent all decade, hence the new NYC offices. Talent chooses cool places to live. Congrats on expanding the talent pool to Alabama.
You’re right with covid”
An Amazon employee responded to the poll sharing, “Can’t wait as a hiring manager, I’m hoping it’ll make hiring easier. Talents are everywhere, not limited to the west coast. but it doesn’t mean we lower the bar. It just means that companies will have a easier time filling their HC. Even with the shift to remote work, there still aren’t enough talents as there are opportunities. I think it’s a win win for everyone. Will the TC come down? Maybe? But that might not to be a bad thing. Why get paid more just so you’re forced to spend more because of where you live? Over time, hopefully cost of living in these hubs will come down as we can see in Seattle all the downtown apartments are emptying out and those who chose to stay are moving into bigger apartments for cheaper.”
