Reuters is reporting that after examining Google’s pay calculator, employees based in the same office before the pandemic could see different changes in pay if they switch to working from home permanently – with longer commuters hit harder. The article highlights that Facebook and Twitter have similar cuts, and smaller companies like Reddit and Zillow have shifted to location-agnostics pay models, cutting advantages on hiring, retention, and diversity.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has established a vaccine mandate for all employees, contractors, and visitors. Dell has delayed reopening their office openings due to the number of COVID-19 cases cited across its office locations. The company has not announced a position on vaccine mandates.
Why do we care?
Besides updating on the landscape, I want to highlight that space where in a highly competitive hiring market smaller companies can thrive. Big Tech’s decisions to try and squeeze on pay because they can – as they clearly don’t have to – just feels unwise in the current landscape. That’s the takeaway. There’s something else to offer to stay competitive.