Coursera to allow remote working till January 2022, offers $1,000 allowance for ‘office setup’

Online learning platform Coursera will allow its employees to opt for remote working till January 1, 2022. Additionally, employees will also receive $1,000 (Rs 73,500 approximately) or the local equivalent in the UK, India, Canada, Bulgaria, and the UAE to create a productive home environment.

In a blog post, Rich Jacquet, Chief People Officer of Coursera said that giving all employees more time to work from home offers the flexibility they need to adjust to new routines brought on by the pandemic, like home-schooling and plan the next 16 months with a clear timeline.

Coursera is among the first companies that has announced remote working till January 2022. Most companies, especially ed-tech players have offered work-from-home till January 2021 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Coursera is also among the first global companies to announce home office set-up allowance.

Jacquet added that Coursera may reopen some locations at limited capacity before 2022, but only if it’s safe. Coursera has about 2,000 employees across the globe.

“Even after our offices safely reopen, Courserians will have the flexibility to work remotely for the long term, work from a nearby office, or split their time between the two arrangements,” said Jacquet.

Coursera employees transitioned to the remote working environment in March. Jacquet said in the blog that the firm has seen more casual interactions between employees who work in different countries over the last six months than ever before.

Further, the blog post said that supporting off-campus work at this scale will enable Coursera to recruit candidates who live beyond a commuting distance from our offices.

“We’ll continue to listen to and work with employees to solve other challenges that come up, starting with a focus on wellness, promoting the use of our flexible vacation policy, and workshops to help managers lead remote teams effectively,” said Jacquet.

Set up in 2012, Coursera now has 68 million learners across the country and the platform partners with 200 plus universities across the world to offer its learning programmes.