Airbnb allows its employees to work from anywhere; details here

San Francisco-based vacation rental company Airbnb has allowed its employees to work from anywhere—be it from home or office, according to a mail to employees by CEO Brian Chesky. The mail read, “We’ve designed a way for you to live and work anywhere—while collaborating in a highly coordinated way, and experiencing the in-person connection that makes Airbnb special.”  

According to Chesky’s mail, Airbnb’s work from anywhere model has five features. Employees allowed to work from home or office and can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won’t be impacted.   

Majority of employees will have the flexibility to work from either from home or office whereas people in some roles will be required to be in office or a specific location to perform their core responsibilities. Employees’ compensation will not be impacted if they move anywhere in the country you work from as Airbnb will have single-pay tiers by country for salary and equity from June.    

If an employee’s pay was set using a lower location-based pay tier, they will receive an increment in June. The company will, however, not be able to support permanent relocation to international locations this year, as per Chesky’s mail.  

The mail reads, “Before you move, make sure to talk to your manager about performance and time zone expectations, as well as your availability for team gatherings.”  

They will also have the flexibility to travel and work in over 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location from September. The employees will need to have a permanent for taxes and payroll purposes. The mail by CHesky said, “Most companies don’t do this because of the mountain of complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zone availability, but I hope we can open-source a solution so other companies can offer this flexibility as well.”  

While getting work authorisation is employees’ responsibility, Airbnb will also actively partner with local governments to make it easier for people to travel and work globally. It further added that more than 20 countries provide remote work visas while more are still working around it.   

Regular meet-ups will also take place for team gatherings, off-sites and social events while continuing to work in a highly coordinated way. Airbnb’s work calendar will continue to be a single company calendar with a multi-year roadmap. It will be centred around major product releases every year- a May release and a November release.   

“Even though not everyone directly works on these product releases, we’re organising our entire calendar around them to maintain company-wide alignment. Our collaboration sessions, off-sites, social events, and breaks will be planned in advance and designed around this calendar,” it said.   

Employees will be expected to gather in office every quarter for about a week at a time whereas those in senior roles will have to report to office more often.   

“Instead of spending a set number of days in the office together, we’re prioritizing meaningful in-person gatherings that will happen throughout the year. Given that we’re still in a pandemic, there will be limited off-sites in 2022, but the Ground Control team is planning some special social events so you’ll still have opportunities to spend time together,” the mail read.    

He also thanked Airbnb employees for supporting the company through the past two years. He said, “The past two years have been some of the most defining in our history. I’m so proud of each one of you and everything you’ve accomplished. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter. It will be just as defining as the last one, but a whole lot brighter.”  

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