Meta hopes that not only ordinary employees but also CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be present in the office – even if it comes at a high cost.
The board of directors of this tech giant stated in a securities document on Wednesday that it would establish a new class of non-voting shares, partly with the aim of allowing Zuckerberg to continue to control the company and providing him with financial incentives to stay near the company headquarters. The board said his presence in the office is “crucial” to the company’s future success. Meta has been requiring employees to spend at least three days a week in the office since 2023.
The document states that Zuckerberg previously informed the board of directors that he was considering moving away from the area due to California's proposed billionaire tax. This stock arrangement will provide the CEO with $20 billion in "immediate liquidity," allowing him to pay the taxes by selling shares without losing control of Meta.
This arrangement is particularly important in Meta, as Zuckerberg is leading the company's advancement in artificial intelligence. It also reflects a common view after the pandemic regarding the return to office: the best work is accomplished when everyone, including senior executives, is physically together.
Stay local.
Cole Rubin, co-founder of sports technology company FanFeed, stated that the CEO and other senior executives are sending a signal to their employees by working in the office in person.
Rubin said to Business Insider, "If you could really see that leaders are also working long hours, then you wouldn't question why you need to work overtime yourself."
He said that executives in the office can also help the company act more quickly when unexpected opportunities arise. Employees can walk directly into their leaders' offices, get immediate responses, and take action before the opportunity passes.
Rubin said, "It's not those pre-arranged calls that truly have magic. As long as the decision-makers are present, people have more freedom and feel that they are being heard."
Former Medtronic Chairman and CEO Bill George stated that during times of crisis, the presence of leaders is particularly important. Being together allows executives to quickly assess what has occurred, judge the employees' reactions, and decide on the next steps to take.
George said, "We must truly feel what is happening emotionally, and we indeed must discuss it in person."
George also pointed out that if the CEO does not comply with the requirements for employees to return to work, these requirements will seem hollow. "If your employees are there, you must also be there," he said.
The Decision to Work Remotely
If Zuckerberg chooses to leave California, Meta would not have become the first company to have a CEO based in another location.
In 2024, when Brian Niccol was appointed CEO of Starbucks, which is headquartered in Seattle, he lived in California. As part of his employment package, the coffee chain agreed not to require him to relocate. Later, the company even built a 4,624-square-foot satellite office within a five-minute walk of his home so that he could work with his colleagues; Business Insider was the first to report on this news. Since then, Niccol has purchased property in Seattle.
According to a study conducted in 2025 by Boston College and Arizona State University, companies with CEOs who work remotely on a long-term basis perform on average worse than those with executives working on-site. The study also showed that such companies have lower valuations and receive poorer internal evaluations.
Meta The decision to find a way to keep Zuckerberg in California was made by a special committee of the board of directors. The committee stated that this decision was influenced by the challenges the company faced during the pandemic when Zuckerberg was unable to be with the management in person.
The committee stated that it does not wish for Meta to “face similar challenges in the future.”
