SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — Salesforce is telling employees to turn away from computer screens, venture out of home isolation, and meet up face-to-face in a redwood tree forest.

The pandemic had a shattering impact on how tech companies and their employees operate around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Google, Facebook, Apple, and Salesforce employees who used to hop on company commuter shuttles every day to work in office buildings were told to go home in 2020, and come back once the pandemic was over.

Now it’s 2022, and many tech employees are still working in makeshift home workspaces, communicating solely through Zoom screens.

Salesforce signaled that it’s taking a new direction this winter, and it doesn’t look anything like the pre-pandemic workplace.

Instead of bringing everyone back to headquarters at the giant Salesforce Tower in downtown San Francisco, the company is sending employees to the forest.

Salesforce’s newest location is Trailblazer Ranch, located on a 75 acre-redwood tree forest tucked in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Brent Hyder, whose official Salesforce job title is “Chief People Officer,” announced the Trailblazer Ranch plan on Thursday.

“The past two years have challenged us to reimagine not only how we work, but also how we connect. We need to align our company to our culture and safely get together, in person,” Hyder wrote.

Salesforce employees were surveyed to find out what they wished for the most. Connecting with collogues was the No. 1 response.

“Since the pandemic began, we’ve onboarded tens of thousands of employees remotely. Those employees have never met their manager or their teams in person. And many of our existing employees haven’t seen their colleagues face-to-face in two years. Finding ways to connect is the number one thing Salesforce employees asked for in our last employee survey. We need to bring back the spontaneity and joy that comes from being together in person, now,” Hyder wrote.

“After years of being on Zoom calls and staring at computer screens, we’re encouraging our employees to step away from their screens. Trailblazer Ranch is an opportunity to disconnect from technology and connect with each other,” Hyder wrote.

According to a recent Deloitte study, employees are working three more hours a day compared to before the pandemic. Eighty percent of respondents ranked personal wellbeing as important to their company’s success.

With that in mind, Salesforce is trying a “success from anywhere” approach, away from San Francisco’s concrete jungle.

At the ranch, employees will participate in “tactile experiences” including nature walks, restorative yoga, group cooking classes, art, journaling, and meditation. The tranquil ranch also has an infinity-edge hot tub and fire pits.

“We look forward to creating meaningful connections and experiences with our Trailblazers,” Hyder wrote.

Salesforce said it will use the ranch, located at 1440 Multiversity, as an interim site until it solidifies a permanent forest location for Trailblazer Ranch.