Reddit Adopts a Flexible Model for the Future of Its Workforce

Reddit shared details on options that will be available to its workforce on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic. The company wrote in a blog post, “Earlier this year, Reddit had to evolve with the unexpected challenge of going 100% remote. Our employees—or Snoos, as we’re known—rose to the occasion, adapting our business and the way we work together quickly to help Reddit come out stronger on the other side. Evolve is one of our company values, and we have always challenged ourselves to continuously make our culture and work experience better.” Reddit added, “Looking ahead, we want to meet the needs of our employees so that they can do their best work, especially in a time of uncertainty. And as we deliver on our mission of creating belonging for everyone in the world, we want Reddit to be positioned as a workforce that’s as diverse as its ecosystem of communities and users.” The company said that moving forward, teams and team members will have the flexibility to work in the office, remotely, or a combination of the two, with the exceptions of roles that must be performed at the office or specific geographic locations, such as facilities and information technology support. For team members who wish to move away from Reddit offices, the company said it will be supportive of the move if they can be effective while remote. Unlike some other companies in the sector, Reddit will not adjust salaries based on where its employees decide to live, tying its compensation to pay ranges in high-cost areas such as New York and San Francisco. The company explained, “We believe this is the right balance of flexibility and support for employees, recognizing the varied tradeoffs people consider when deciding where to live. Internationally, we have had one pay range per country, and now the U.S. will be consistent with this approach.” When employees do come into the office, Reddit said is it “reimagining the future of our office space” to add elements such as casual and coffee-shop-style seating, private space, larger bookable resources and collaboration spaces and eliminating fixed desks. The company said it is focusing on creating processes, workflows and a culture that supports employees being distributed and remote. Reddit said potential benefits of this new approach include acquiring top talent by not requiring people to relocate, potentially increasing the diversity of its workforce, as well as driving employee engagement and productivity and better managing existing office space. The possible downsides include not being physically together as frequently, but Reddit believes the pros will outweigh the cons. The company wrote, “As our teams become more distributed, we will have many learnings about the impact of this model on our performance as a business. We will not be afraid to continuously adapt and evolve our workforce philosophies, programs and processes. 2020 is an unprecedented year, and we strongly believe that for the foreseeable future, providing flexible work arrangements to our current and future Snoos is the right thing to do for Reddit.”