Twitter employees asked to work from home over coronavirus

Twitter is asking all of its employees worldwide to stay away from their offices until further notice to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus.

In a statement on Monday, chief human resources officer Jennifer Christie said: “Beginning today, we are strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they’re able. Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for us – and the world around us. We are operating out of an abundance of caution and the utmost dedication to keeping our Tweeps healthy.”

The guidance is not mandatory for most employees, and Christie said Twitter’s offices will remain open.

“We recognize that working from home is not ideal for some job functions. For those employees who prefer or need to come into the offices, they will remain open for business,” she said.

The company further noted that is it increasing deep cleaning and sanitizing in all spaces, as well as putting up more visual reminders for personal hygiene best practices and pre-packaged, pre-composed, and pre-plated food options.

Employees based in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea were however told that it is mandatory to work from home, due partially to government restrictions already in place in those countries.

Twitter announced Saturday it was suspending all non-critical business travel and events.