Zoom wants its employees to work in person

Zoom, one of the best-known video communication and remote work companies, has experienced tremendous growth during the coronavirus pandemic. However, in an almost ironic move, the virtual room developer is now asking its own employees to return to face-to-face work.

Hybrid work in the name of innovation

According to a statement issued by the company, Zoom wants to move closer to a hybrid work system. The new policy requires employees who live within 50 miles of the office to work in person at least two days a week.

In a statement published by Business Insider, the company stresses that face-to-face work offers greater opportunities for further innovation in technology.

"As a company, we are better able to use our own technologies, continue to innovate and support our global customers."

Zoom's decision, as a telecommuting company, seems somewhat ironic and has even spawned memes on the Internet. Still, some point out that the company has similar demands as other companies, regardless of the product it develops. And because of this, it can feel the benefits of face-to-face work just like other companies.

Benefits of telecommuting provoke resistance to returning to the office

After the end of the pandemic, many companies started demanding that their employees return to face-to-face work. But there is a lot of resistance from many of them.

The possibility of telecommuting has made many people realize the various advantages of not having to commute to the office. One of the most prominent was the trade-off of commuting and lunchtime at the company for more time with the family at home. There was also more sleep time gained by not having to get up early to get to work.

According to survey data from Kastle Systems, as of July of this year, companies in ten major U.S. metropolitan areas were still recording only 50% face-to-face work.

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That's why Zoom itself has encouraged hybrid work, as a way to balance the needs of companies and employees. "That's why you have to embrace hybrid work," Eric Yuan, Zoom's founder and CEO, said in May.

Even with its new hybrid or face-to-face work policy, Zoom has felt the effect of the end of the pandemic and demands from other companies to return to the office. After rapid growth between 2020 and 2022, the company had to lay off 15% of its team in February this year amid new uncertainties in the global economy.