Salesforce Says The 9-To-5 Workday Is Dead

Submitted by Market Crumbs,

There’s no denying that the pandemic has changed the way people work. Plenty has been written about what the future of work may look like. Countless companies have said working from home will be permanent, others expect employees to return to the office and others will adopt a mixture of both.

While a company’s work environment plans aren’t exactly interesting, cloud-based software giant Salesforce made a bold statement earlier this week when providing an update on how the company plans to create a better workplace.

“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,” Salesforce President and Chief People Officer Brent Hyder wrote in a blog post.

“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.”

With the 9-to-5 workday becoming a thing of the past, Salesforce laid out how it will create a workplace that’s more connected, creates a better work-life balance and promotes equality.

Using employee wellbeing surveys, Salesforce found that nearly half of its employees want to go to an office only a few times per month, while 80% of them want to maintain a connection to a physical space.

Salesforce will give employees three options for how, when and where they work. Employees who don’t live near an office or require one will be able to permanently work from home, while employees who are in roles that require an office will remain office-based. The largest portion of Salesforce’s workforce will work “flex,” meaning they’ll be in the office 1-3 days per week for team collaboration, customer meetings and presentations.

With the bulk of Salesforce’s employees still set to step foot in an office, the company laid out how their offices will be reimagined for a hybrid workstyle. Salesforce said “gone are the days of a sea of desks” as offices will be transformed into breakout and collaboration spaces to make up for the lost human interaction while working from home.

Salesforce also announced it has created a taskforce to oversee its vaccine management plan. Similar to many other large companies, Salesforce is implementing health procedures such as temperature screenings before entry, requiring face coverings, frequent deep cleaning and manual contact tracing.

As companies reveal their plans for returning to normalcy, Salesforce’s prediction that the 9-to-5 workday is dead may ultimately turn out to be accurate.