Blind, one of the most popular professional networks used by IT pros, conducted a surveyOpens a new window to assess how big banner names are responding to the coronavirus outbreak and whether tech companies are mandating remote work policy to mitigate the effect of virus. Blind gathered around 680 responses from IT pros on Work from Home policy and the findings indicate that 86% respondents have a remote work policy while 14% employees lack the option.
The findings also indicate that panic is widespread. As per the survey responses, around 100 respondents indicated their companies had confirmed cases of coronavirus, while 380+ employees reported no confirmed cases, underscoring how companies are taking precautionary steps to curb the risk of contagion. Only 15% confirmed coronavirus pandemic in their office facility, while 57% had no cases of confirmed outbreak.
Tech News: 60% Of European Tech Enthusiasts Prefer AMD Processors: EHA SurveyOpens a new window
Seattle appeared as the hotbed for virus with maximum cases erupting there. IT professionals from Microsoft, Uber, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Oracle, Cisco, Citrix, among others participated in the survey.
Blind’s discussion board on WFH also revealed employees are divided over remote work with some believing that “mass WFH doesn’t stop people from getting the virus sooner or later, but it will help slow the rate of its spread. It’s not about prevention but maintaining manageability.â€
Among big technology giants, Microsoft and Amazon have not implemented a Work from Home policy in their locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dallas, Texas respectively. Collectively, 48 out of 72 IT professionals working at the five Big Tech giants, including Apple, Facebook and Google, have witnessed confirmed cases of coronavirus at their workspaces. Big Five have implemented mandatory Work from Homes in 16 offices across the U.S. So far, Amazon is the only company to have completely restricted employee travel in two of its locations — Seattle and Dallas.
Out of 678 IT professionals that participated in the survey, a large majority (575) said their companies cancelled either all or some of their corporate events, 363 said their companies have completely restricted the entry of visitors, 497 said their companies have completely restricted employees from traveling, and 132 said their companies have partially restricted employee travel.
Let us know if you liked this news on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!