Google was one of the companies that strongly encouraged employees to work from home when the pandemic started. However, currently, the scenario is different, and despite announcing flexible arrangements until June of 20201, Google has begun migrating employees who voluntarily want to return to the office.
As the pandemic continues, but companies and overall, the world is adapting to the new reality, offices are starting to open, taking into account the necessary safety measurements. Google was an early adopter of the remote work model, but with the vaccines on the way, they want to have all their employees back in the office.
Google Has Set a New Remote Work Deadline: September
Google has recently announced their new remote work guidelines as a plan to speed up the process and have everyone working on-site.
As vaccines have been distributed in several US states and countries worldwide, Google is accelerating its reopening plans. Currently, some employees voluntarily went back to work in the office, while some work from home offices, safe & sound.
However, the company has set a new deadline for all employees: September 1. According to internal documents viewed by CNBC, Google’s offices are reopening in April, taking into account the trend in covid-19 cases.
According to the New York Times, Google’s Chief People Officer, Fiona Cicconi, told employees via email that:
Offices will operate at a limited capacity, and reopening will vary state by state, based on the number of cases in the area.Fiona Cicconi
Slowly Returning to the Office
Google plans to have everyone back at the office after Sept 1, working onsite at least three days a week. For more than 14 additional days working remotely, employees will have to formally apply for it. Only under exceptional circumstances, Google’s staff will be able to work 12 months remotely.
As more and more companies join the remote work trend, other tech giants such as Google surprisingly took a step in a different direction.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, previously stated the importance of adapting to the remote work model. Yet, he emphasized the importance of having a sense of community and how being in-person is relevant for businesses.
Despite having a hybrid model during these pasts months, Google’s ultimate decision was to slowly return to the office, hoping that by the end of 2021, all employees are working at full speed at their on-site offices.
