Robinhood allowing ‘primarily remote’ work for employees on permanent basis

Robinhood said on Wednesday it would transition to “primarily remote” work for the stock-trading app’s roughly 3,400 employees.

The company announced the news in a blog post, writing that its “mission to democratize finance for all starts with our people, and that means bringing in and supporting Robinhoodies.”

“In the last two years, we’ve seen how flexibility and trust allows teams to do their best work, attract top talent, and create a workplace that’s more inclusive and equitable,” the company said in the post. “Primarily remote is a great opportunity to help build a more inclusive financial industry — one that better reflects the country’s population as a whole.”

Although Robinhood is based in California, employees work in locations across the country. In the post, Robinhood said most of its employees will not be required to come in to any office or work location, but they will have access if they need it.

Robinhood is the latest company to switch to a more flexible, remote work schedule after the pandemic led to a drastic shift in how many companies operate. 

Spotify and Twitter are among the score of companies giving employees permanent flexibility to work remotely.  Google and Uber have postponed their return-to-office work dates indefinitely into 2022, as did Apple.

The number of employees working remotely has dropped, however. According to the Department of Professional Employees, in the early days of the pandemic, more than half of the professional workforce was working from home. But as of August, that number had dropped to 24.6 percent.

Robinhood, however, said it would be “reimagining” remote work for its employees by rolling out new programs and technologies.

“Our teams have done amazing work and built a strong workplace community during these uncertain and challenging times, and we’re excited to continue to offer them the flexibility they’ve asked for by staying primarily remote,” the company said in its blog post.