Square Enix: the Work From Home program will become permanent

The work-from-home program of Square Enix it is expanding to become a crucial element of the company for the Japanese company. On November 25, 2020, Square announced "a permanent and basic program" that will allow "all executive officers and employees" to have the opportunity to work at home on the software house's website. The staff of Square Enix, Square Enix Holdings and Luminous Production will then be able to participate in the program and become "a smart working employee"Starting from 1 December 2020, with the option of changing their availability according to personal needs.

In the announcement, the software house announced that it had exceeded some of the objectives and expectations it had set itself with the new program. For example, staff will be given the option to be at home or in the office, depending on how many days they would work from both locations, and whether their work would also allow them to work in both situations. The Japanese company also said that such a program had been under consideration for some time, and 80% of employees surveyed in June 2020 found that it worked perfectly for them. In this way, they expect "more diversified human resources" and an "optimal work-life balance" as advantages. In March 2020, due to the pandemic, the activities of work from home in smart working. The company announced that its teams would be switching to the program at locations around the world to work on the games when possible. In cases where this was not possible, however, measures were implemented to decrease the number of people who would have been physically in the office. This new type of work could thus also involve the second part of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

The permanent program Square Enix Work-from-home will start on December 1, 2020. In its announcement, it states that "around 80% of employees" could participate after the start. Could this be the beginning of a new era of work from home for the gaming sector as well?