Facebook Gives Employees Extra $1,000 and Good Reviews Amid Coronavirus

Facebook Inc. will give all of its full-time employees an additional $1,000 in their next paycheck and will give everyone the same “exceeds expectations” performance review for the first half of the year.

By giving all of its roughly 45,000 full-time staffers the same review, Facebook is ensuring that all of those employees receive their biannual bonuses. A Facebook spokeswoman confirmed the moves, which were announced in an internal memo.

The changes underscore the dramatic way the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped corporate cultures across the country. Most employees of Facebook and other tech companies have already started working from home. Facebook is also sending its contractors, including content moderators, home with pay, according to a company news release Monday night.

Facebook’s performance ratings are a hallmark of the company’s culture, requiring employees to collect feedback from five colleagues, among other things. The top rating is “redefines,” followed by “greatly exceeds expectations” and “exceeds expectations.”Became a Global Pandemic

On Dec. 1, 2019, a patient in Wuhan, China, started showing symptoms of what doctors determined was a new coronavirus. Since then, the virus has spread to infect more than 100,000 people. Here’s how the virus grew to a global pandemic. Photo illustration: Carter McCall/WSJ

Facebook employees will still gather reviews from colleagues and managers, a spokeswoman said, but everyone’s rating will be set to “exceeds expectations” during the first half of 2020.

The employee moves are among several announced by the social-media giant in response to the pandemic.

Facebook, which has more than 2 billion users worldwide, said it would provide support for up to 30,000 eligible firms in more than 30 countries where it operates.

The funding is meant to help recipients to retain their workforces, assist with operating costs and connect with customers, it said, noting that details on what it takes to qualify will come at a later date.

The majority of it will be doled out as grants, and applicants don’t need to be Facebook advertisers or have a presence on the platform, according to a Facebook spokeswoman.

The company also said it is providing online guidance and virtual training for businesses on how to keep up operations during the pandemic.

“We’ve listened to small businesses to understand how we can best help them,” wrote the company’s operating chief Sheryl Sandberg in a Facebook post. “We’ve heard loud and clear that financial support could enable them to keep the lights on and pay people who can’t come to work.”

Source: WSJ