Last week, CNET reported that Google offered its employees the ability to request office changes or apply to become fully remote workers, via a new Work Location tool. “With our new hybrid workplace, more employees are considering where they live and how they work,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “To better equip people with the information they need to explore their options, we’ve built a tool that will allow all employees to request to move to a new location, or go remote.”

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai previously shared his vision of the search giant’s new hybrid return-to-work plans via an internal message from the chief executive to his employees. The program calls for around 60% of Googlers coming together in the office for a few days a week, while another 20% will work in new office locations and 20% are anticipated to work remotely. He also raised a point, which might not be well-received by the Googlers, “Whether you choose to transfer to a different office or opt for completely remote work, your compensation will be adjusted according to your new location.”

A number of high-profile corporations, such as Reddit, the freewheeling community and comment-driven platform, and Zillow, the online real estate site, informed their employees that they could work wherever they’d like and earn the same amount of money—as if they were based in expensive cities, such as New York or San Francisco. This trend may continue, as it’s reasonable to see other companies recognize this is a great way to attract and retain workers. Their policies challenge the long-held belief that where people live should determine what they earn.

If this trend takes hold, it will be a boon for workers. The prospect of not needing to live within commuting distance of a job or applying for a role anywhere in the U.S. could be a career game changer. A person who’s stuck in a region that doesn’t offer appropriate jobs would have to settle for what’s available. When companies are open to recruiting talent away from the major business hubs, it opens up new vistas for a large number of Americans.

Morgan Stanley’s CEO James Gorman has a hardcore stance on remote work. Gorman, according to the Financial Times, said about his return-to-the-office plan, “If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office.” To underscore his desire for people to return to their respective offices, Gorman said he’d be “very disappointed” if workers have not “found their way into the office” by the Labor Day holiday on September 6.

It was reported that he’d “take a dim view of employees who did not work regularly in the office.” While some tech companies were open to paying people Silicon Valley wages, even if they relocated to lower-cost locations, Gorman said, “If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York.”

Reddit acknowledges that a percentage of people may elect to relocate. If they so choose, the company “will be supportive of the move—and won’t adjust their compensation down.” To show support for its employees, the company is “eliminating geographic compensation zones in the U.S.” Contrary to what other companies are doing, this policy suggests that “compensation will be tied to pay ranges of high-cost areas, such as [San Francisco] and [New York], regardless of where employees live.”

In a companywide announcement, Zillow chief people officer Dan Spaulding informed his 5,400 employees, “Effective immediately, we will offer about 90% of our employees the flexibility to work from home as an ongoing option.” Spaulding said in the memo that Zillow’s “allowing them the ability to work where they are most productive, whether that is in the office, their home or a combination of both.” Spaulding also said, according to the Wall Street Journal, a person’s compensation won’t change if they relocate to a lower-cost location. He added, “Our old preferences have been debunked during the pandemic.”

VMware, a California-based publicly traded software company that provides cloud computing and virtualization software and services, announced that employees who work remotely will get a pay cut if they move out of Silicon Valley to live in less-costly cities. According to Bloomberg, “Employees who worked at VMware’s Palo Alto, California headquarters and go to Denver, for example, must accept an 18% salary reduction. Rich Lang, VMware’s senior vice president of human resources, offered a positive alternative. When a person relocates and works remotely, they “could get a raise if they chose to move to a larger or more expensive city.”