Salesforce shifts away from in-person work: ‘The 9-to-5 workday is dead’

Salesforce has become the latest tech company in San Francisco to signal a transition away from in-person work, declaring the “9-to-5 workday is dead”.

The city’s largest private employer announced on Tuesday it would permanently allow many employees to work from home, even after it becomes safe to return to offices following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Salesforce said that after polling employees on their preferences, it would transition the majority of workers to a “flex” situation in which they come into an office just one to three days per week. Only a small part of the workforce will continue to work from an office location four or more days per week. Employees who do not live near an office are free to work remotely indefinitely.

“As employers, we have an opportunity to create an even better workplace – one that allows us to be more connected to each other, find more balance between work and home, and advance equality – ultimately leading to increased innovation and better business outcomes,” said Brent Hyder, the chief “people officer” at Salesforce, who heads its employee policies.

The move follows similar announcements from tech firms including Facebook and Microsoft and has long-term implications for the city of San Francisco, where Salesforce built a notorious tower and transit terminal starting in 2013, making its headquarters the tallest building in the city.

During the tech boom in San Francisco in the past decade, companies were known for their sprawling employee campuses with perks like cafeterias, fancy on-site gyms, nap pods and games. Those days were over, Hyder suggested.

“As we enter a new year, we must continue to go forward with agility, creativity and a beginner’s mind – and that includes how we cultivate our culture,” he said. “An immersive workspace is no longer limited to a desk in our Towers; the 9-to-5 workday is dead; and the employee experience is about more than ping-pong tables and snacks.”

Amid the changes to traditional workplace models, many tech professionals have left the Bay area, opting to work from more affordable cities now that jobs provide more flexibility. The most common destination for tech workers leaving the Bay is Austin, Texas, followed by Seattle, New York, and Chicago, according to moveBuddha, a site that compiles data on moving.

The exodus of tech talent could have a big impact on the Bay Area, which has been shaped by the tech boom and the money that came with it. The transformation of the city came with gentrification, rising rent costs, increases in homelessness and decreases in diversity. As more high earners leave the city, San Francisco has seen rents decrease substantially.