Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) has told more than 30,000 employees worldwide that they can continue to work from home indefinitely.
Ford said employees, other than those involved in frontline vehicle production, are free to use the office only when necessary, even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
The company is introducing what it calls a "flexible hybrid work model" that will let employees choose to stay home for "head-down work" and come to the office only for meetings and team-building activities.
The new work arrangement will debut as soon as this July and apply mostly to salaried office staff, not factory workers. Like many employers, Ford is grappling with the reality that workers have grown to appreciate not commuting every day and working at home.
Half of the world’s workers now do their jobs from home, up from just 11% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Willis Towers Watson, a human-resources firm.
In a survey last summer, 95% of Ford’s global nonproduction staff said they wanted to maintain a mix of home and office work after the pandemic. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company finished 2020 with 186,000 employees globally.
