Bringing workers back to their desks after more than two years seemed to be a rocky road for employers and employees alike. Leaders noticed that The Great Return—as it’s being called—actually wasn’t that great for everyone. 

To cater to a variety of demands and requirements, different companies responded in different ways. While organisation like Lenovo embraced a hybrid work model, Amazon India called its employees back to office. 

Here’s a quick glance into the world's top companies and their post-pandemic workplace strategies.

Adobe - hybrid work model

Adobe decided to embrace hybrid and flexible work models. It allowed its employees to work from home up to 50% of the time. Other than this, the company also let the number of employees who work remotely full-time to double. This was revealed by Gloria Chen, Adobe’s chief people officer. "The future of work at Adobe will be hybrid," Chen said in her post. 

Airbnb - remote work model

For a more optimistic work environment, Airbnb Inc allowed its workforce to be permanently able to work from anywhere — including their home, the office, or while traveling in different countries. Talking about the same, the firm’s CEO Brian Chesky said, “The world is becoming more flexible about where people can work. We see this in our own business. We wouldn't have recovered so quickly from the pandemic had it not been for millions of people working from Airbnbs.”

Amazon - hybrid and remote work model 

Initially, Amazon decided that its employees would return to the office full-time. However, the company soon retracted and announced a hybrid work scheme. The employees will do home office two days of the week, which will be determined by the management team. Those who wish to telework for more days, they will require a permit from their superior. After receiving the approval, that particular employee will be considered a remote worker. 

Apple - hybrid work model

Apple too made a decision to call its employees to work from the office. But later took a U-turn, following major resentment from the staff. In fact, Apple's head of machine learning left his high-paying job and joined Google because he was asked to report to the office at least three days a week. Understanding the issue of employees, the company delayed its three-day in-office work requirement. 

Canva - flexible work model

Embracing flexibility, Canva allowed its employees to work from anywhere they want. The company called the change part of its “long-term approach to the future of work,” where it will focus on flexibility and connection and abolish any formal rules around office attendance.

Citigroup – hybrid work model

Citigroup Inc was one of those companies that saw remote working as a threat initially. However, it later realised the perks of hybrid model. CEO Jane Fraser said that most roles in the bank would become hybrid and announced Citigroup’s staff can also work remotely for up to two to three days per week. 

Google – hybrid work model

Letting its employees to work flexibly, CEO Sundar Pichai allowed a hybrid working model. Under this, employees will attend the office three days a week and work remotely two days. In an interview, Pichai said that this will give employees a 'good balance' between the time at home and time with their colleagues. 

Lenovo - hybrid work model

One of the biggest tech firms, Lenovo, offered a flexible workplace option for employees, wherein workers will be required to be in the office three days a week. Just like Google, for the other two days, employees have the option to work remotely.

Meta (Facebook) - hybrid work model

Previously, Meta (formerly known as Facebook) stated that only those in senior roles could request to work remotely full-time after the pandemic. However, now, in a bid to double down on flexibility, Facebook announced that all employees across the company could request to work remotely full-time. For employees whose work requires them to be in an office or those still seeking remote-work approval, the company suggested they attend office at least 50% of the time. 

Microsoft - hybrid work model

Microsoft has offered its employees to work from home part-time on a permanent basis. There will not be any need for the formal approval from their managers for the same. Not only this, the company will also cover home office expenses. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in his LinkedIn post that, “Hybrid work represents the biggest shift to how we work in our generation—and it’ll require a new operating model, spanning people, places, and processes”.

Reddit - hybrid work model

Taking a proactive approach, Reddit announced that it will switch to a hybrid workplace model permanently just six months after the pandemic. And since then, the firm’s entire workforce has been working flexibly, from wherever they want—office, home or a blend of both. 

Twitter - return to office

Twitter's work-from-anywhere forever policy was retained by Parag Agrawal, the former company CEO, who was recently fired by Elon Musk after his formal takeover. The new report adds that Twitter can make exceptions, and some employees can continue working from home if necessary. 

Uber - hybrid work model

Uber moved to a hybrid work model, after its employees asked for more flexibility over how and where they work. In response, the company gave their employees the choice to work from their preferred office location. 

2022 brought us chaos, but also the opportunity to review, renew, and advance. Read the end-2022 issue of People Matters Digital Magazine for a look back, and some key takeaways to bring forward.