With a total of 118,000 cases of the Coronavirus declared in 114 countries, the World Health Organisation officially declared COVID-19 a ‘pandemic’ yesterday. With the virus being contagious through touch and close contact, Twitter has made is compulsory for all their employees to work from home.
Twitter has offered to pay for the setup of their employees and contractors’ home offices and all contractors, vendors, and hourly workers will continue to receive their agreed upon wages, even if they are unable to deliver on their work. Twitter has also agreed to cover any daycare expenses for their employees if their usual daycares have been shut down because of the virus.
The social media company is also launching employee support programs and virtual talks to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 on the day to day lives of their employees. The meetings and support groups will be held over the internet and all impact of the virus such as the possibility of directly catching the disease, the impact of schools and universities being shut down, and also dealing with the racism directed towards specific ethnic groups.
Other multinational companies have also strongly encouraged their employees to work from home. Google has recommended all their employees in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa work from home. Amazon, Lyft, and Box have also implemented these precautionary measures and other tech giants are expected to soon implement these policies as well.
With the Coronavirus affecting almost every country on the face of the earth, people are hesitant to leave their own houses and knowing their employers care for their well-being just as much as they do gives them an extra sense of security and confidence and motivates them to support these companies in this time of global crisis.
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