In early October 2021, PwC announced that their employees in the U.S. can choose where to work.

This means that employee can work virtually anywhere they want in the United States. They don’t have to come into the office frequently as part of a return-to-office policy.

PwC U.S. employees will have to let their HR know whether they want to adopt this approach in 2 weeks. They can also change their minds later which seems a little odd. The situation is obviously developing as PwC is adopting this policy.

PwC will base their compensation based on where the employees choose to work. If employees choose to work in New York City, they will make more money than someone that chooses to live in rural Florida.

Why Is PwC Doing This?

PwC is doing this to retain and recruit employees.

Many large companies are facing an employment crisis. People are quitting their jobs and pursuing their dreams and moving to different places. The pandemic has made it apparent that enjoying your life is more important than being chained to a desk or city.

Why Wouldn’t You Choose Remote?

I can’t think of a reason you wouldn’t make the choice to be remote. I think most people will opt in to this. I think most employees were already adopting this anyway. It’s just a matter of formalizing it. I think it also provides a data point for PwC to track employees. They can lower the pay of employees that choose to work remote from other states.

My Opinion

I think all potential big 4 employees should put PwC at the top of their list. PwC seems to be the most pro-employee big 4 accounting firm right now. Employees should reward PwC by applying their and choosing to work there. This will force the other big 4 to change their policies.

I also don’t think this is a huge shift in current PwC policy. They are just publicizing their policy to get more recruitment. I think they will also coach up their talent people to help employees shift to this structure.