Twitter will allow remote work forever — and it probably won't be the last company to do so

The remote work revolution has entered its next phase.

As COVID-19 forced companies around the world to take their usual office operations remote, it became clear that the pandemic would lead businesses to rethink work-from-home policies and even having offices in the first place. Twitter became one of the biggest and earliest companies to formally react to that changing reality on Tuesday, with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announcing the company will let nearly all its employees work from home permanently.

In a company-wide email, Dorsey said Twitter likely won't open its offices until at least September, BuzzFeed News reports. Business travel, save for a few exceptions, would also be canceled until then, and all in-person events have been called off until at least 2021. But even after offices reopen, employees won't have to return to them if they don't want, Dorsey said in extending an additional $1,000 work-from-home allowance to employees.

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Dorsey's announcement doesn't mean Twitter will start shuttering its offices. Employees who maintain servers and other jobs that have to be done in person will still have to come in, and everyone will still have the option to work at an office. But it's likely some employees will never return to the office, and that hires from places where Twitter doesn't have offices won't relocate.

Other major companies, including JPMorgan Chase and Nationwide Insurance, have said they'll expand remote work options post pandemic. That could eventually cut down on office expenses for those companies — but also further disparities between tech-based workers and lower-income workers, who more often have to physically report to work.