Use wechat scan QR code < / P > < p > to share with friends and circle of friends < / P > < p > < / P > < p > March 23, < a target = "_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD "> US < / a > Monday local time, < a target ="_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E5%BE%AE%E8%BD%AF "> Microsoft < / a > announced that it will allow more employees to return to the_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E5%8D%8E%E7%9B%9B%E9%A1%BF "> Washington < / a > < a target ="_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E9%9B%B7%E5%BE%B7%E8%92%99%E5%BE%B7 "> Redmond < / a > headquarters and nearby parks. Novel coronavirus pneumonia began to encourage employees to work at home at the beginning of last year's outbreak of new crown pneumonia, so the company's main office in the United States has been closed for nearly 1 years.

However, this situation will start to change on March 29, with Microsoft at < a target = "_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E9%9B%B7%E8%92%99%E5%BE%B7 "> Raymond < / a > and Seattle headquarters will be reopened to a limited extent. "At present, Microsoft's offices in 21 countries and regions have been able to accommodate more employees, accounting for about 20% of our global employees," said Kurt Delbene, Microsoft's strategic director. From March 29, Microsoft will also reopen Redmond headquarters and nearby parks. " Microsoft says it currently has more than 160000 employees. < / P > < p > Microsoft said it was taking a gradual return to work approach to meet local government restrictions. The company has determined that its headquarters can now safely accommodate more employees. "When we focus on the progress of the fight against the epidemic in the region and continue to evaluate our guidance, employees working in Raymond headquarters or nearby parks can choose to return to these facilities or continue to work remotely, or they can flexibly combine the two," del Baine explained < / P > < p > this is the beginning of the reopening of Microsoft's office, and the fourth of the six phases outlined by the company last year, which is called "soft opening" to let more employees return to their posts. The fifth stage is the limited opening of the office, and the sixth stage is the unrestricted full opening. < / P > < p > as it reopens, Microsoft is also focusing on creating so-called hybrid workplaces, as it expects the need for telecommuting and flexibility among employees and elsewhere to continue. Microsoft will release the 2021 version of the work trend index, which includes data and Research on how employees and businesses respond to the epidemic. < / P > < p > Microsoft found that 73% of its employees wanted to continue to work flexibly and remotely. Microsoft itself now takes part-time work from home as the standard job for its employees, and the company is exploring new ways to use technology to bridge the gap between telecommuting and traditional offices. "We brought together a number of Microsoft researchers, engineers and real estate and facilities experts to design prototypes of hybrid meeting spaces in our Redmond, Washington and UK parks," delbane explained. The team is investigating different conference configurations and technologies, such as multiple screens, cameras and mixed reality scenes, to understand the most effective and inclusive settings for mixed work. " "While we don't know how long it will take to return to normal, we are adapting to a new way of working and expanding our understanding of flexibility," delbaine added. We know there are thousands of different ways of working, and we believe that flexibility is crucial to maintaining a work life balance. " (small) < / P > < p >