Square Enix has released an official statement, allowing 80 percent of its employees to permanently work from home. The announcement will come into effect starting December 1, 2020.
The company says that most of its employees have reacted positively to the current working from home schedule during the pandemic. Not only does it support to boost their productivity and creativity, but working from home also help them "achieve the optimal work-life balance."
"Rather than utilizing work from home solely as a means of preventing infections during the current pandemic, the Company will establish it as a permanent and core program among the working styles it accommodates," the announcement reads.
That said, most Square Enix employees will be working their home, even though a considerably small segment of them needs to report to the office depending on their job description.
Nevertheless, it does not necessarily mean that most employees won't have to go to the office anymore for years. The program will combine both home and office models, allowing them to work three days/week from home or three days/week from the office.
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First Time
Square Enix, the home of Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider games, has joined the laundry list of tech companies who let their employees permanently work from home.
In October, Microsoft announced that its employees are free to work remotely after noticing that the office will not be opened until January 2021. Facebook made a similar announcement and allowed half of the employees to work from home for ten years even though the employees signed an open letter condemning the boss for the different circumstances on the field. On the other hand, Twitter employees have also been implementing the telecommuting policy since last May.
However, this is the first time that a gaming company made such an announcement. Hopefully, this would be a wake-up call to other publishers because, after all, gaming should be a fun and not a life-threatening experience.
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How Coronavirus Impacted the Gaming Industry
It is remarkable how the current coronavirus pandemic changed the way we see our world, from studying to working. Online teleconferencing is now more popular than ever, and it will be strange to report back to the office once things get back to normal.
CD Projekt Red, a Polish-based developer, is among the A-list publishers who have been severely impacted by the tragic event. Cyberpunk 2077 is seeing another postponed release date after they ironically confirmed that there would be no more delays.
Console retailers, like Best Buy and GameStop, also said that they would not sell the new-gen PS5 and Xbox Series S/X on their sites to prevent people from camping outside the stores.
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