Microsoft employees will work remotely for up to half their working hours

Microsoft Corp MSFT.O said on Friday it would allow most of its employees to clock in up to half their weekly working hours remotely, providing greater flexibility even after offices start reopening.

The software-maker said in a blog post that while returning to office is optional for most employees for now, Microsoft was not committing to having every employee work remotely.

The Redmond, Washington-based company had about 163,000 full-time employees as of June.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way businesses function, with work-from-home emerging as the new norm.

Earlier in May, Twitter Inc TWTR.N became the first major tech company to allow employees who can work remotely to do so indefinitely.

Facebook Inc FB.O had said it would allow its employees to work from home till July next year, while Google GOOGL.O had extended the remote working period for employees who do not need to be in the office till June.