State Farm is changing how its employees work on a permanent basis. The Bloomington-based insurer announced Friday it is introducing hybrid roles where most people will be part time in the office and part time at home.
State Farm says about 40,000 people will be hybrid, starting in July. That's about 69% of the company workforce. The remaining roughly 18,000 employees will be either in office or work remotely all of the time. State Farm employs nearly 58,000 people across the country.
"This new approach enables State Farm to operate as efficiently as possible for the benefit of our customers, while providing a more flexible work environment for our current and future employees," the company said in a statement.
The implications for Bloomington-Normal are not yet clear, though the company said decisions will vary by business area and leaders will work with employees to determine how much time they spend at each location.
"Most State Farm employees will be hybrid, which means they will continue to be assigned to our facilities in Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix and Bloomington and will spend time working both at home and in the office. We still believe there are inherent benefits to being able to collaborate and work inside our facilities," said the company.
Since the pandemic began more than a year ago, most State Farm employees have worked from home and implementation of the new model signals a return to the office for most, at least in part, over the summer.
"We will continuously learn and adapt to this new way of working. How we move forward will be influenced by all we’ve learned and what best meets the needs of our customers, while at the same time accommodating company and employee interests," said State Farm.
The company said the pandemic has accelerated many efforts already underway at State Farm, from new customer service solutions to digital technology.
"We're proud of how our workforce adapted to new ways of working, even while balancing personal challenges," said the company.
In response to a WGLT question on how to maintain a sense of team and positive workplace culture, the company replied: "We are an organization built on the power of relationships, and over the past year we’ve learned how to stay connected working outside the office. How we move forward will be influenced by all we’ve learned and what best meets the needs of our customers, while at the same time accommodating company and employee interests," said public affairs staff.
State Farm is far from the only big company to adopt a hybrid workplace model. Google, Amazon, and Facebook have all done so, creating ripple effects in the commercial real estate sector in many cities.
"Business decisions continue to influence our real estate strategy, and we will continue to learn and adapt moving forward," said State Farm in response to WGLT's query about building use in Bloomington-Normal.
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