Salesforce declares '9-to-5 workday is dead,' all employees can permanently work from home

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- In a bold statement, the city's largest private employer, Salesforce has declared the "9 to 5 workday dead."

Many of their 9,000 employees can also now work from home, permanently.

"Whenever Salesforce makes any sort of move, certainly the rest of the community is listening, including the tech community," said Jennifer Stojkovic, Sf.citi Executive Director.

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Listening to this, an extensive blog post published Tuesday by Salesforce Chief People Officer Brent Hyder.

Hyder writes, "an immersive workplace is no longer limited to a desk in our tower, the 9 to 5 workday is dead and the employee experience is about more than ping pong tables and snacks. The move is part of a bigger trend, one where tech companies no longer have big headquarters, talent can be found anywhere and flexibility is a key benefit."

"It makes it much, much easier for folks that have families, caregiving duties, other things outside of the workplace, right," said Stojkovic. "So there's, it makes it more equitable in that sense."

Sf.citi estimates the pandemic triggered about 63 percent of tech companies downsizing their San Francisco offices. All of this has a huge impact on the city's downtown core.

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"I think that it makes us nervous and hopeful for an opportunity," said Jay Cheng, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Nervous because that means this massive downtown Salesforce tower will be mostly empty. Old Navy just announced it's also closing its San Francisco offices. One report is claiming Uber plans on shrinking its Mission Bay HQ. Late last year, Twitter also told their employees they can work from home, forever. The list keeps growing.

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"I have no doubt that we're going to see more announcements like this in coming days," said Stojkovic.

For the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, that means reimagining what the downtown core is for and helping businesses adapt quickly.

"Going to the office is a big occasion," said Cheng. "Something that you do maybe once a week or three times a week. And so there's an opportunity there for small businesses to really make it experiential."