Google is changing its WFH policy as it looks to bring more people back to its US offices.
The technology company will only allow employees to work from home for more than 14 days a year upon application.
Google will continue with its home-based plans until September 1 but will allow people to return voluntarily from next month.
The tech giant was one of the first companies to offer home-based work options when the pandemic hit last year.
Major Reopening
“It’s been a year since most of us have been working from home, and the thought of returning to the office can evoke different emotions,” said Fiona Cicconi, head of Google’s email operations Wednesday.
Google is currently preparing for a major reopening in September, when employees are expected to be in office for at least three days a week.
Until then, the initial recovery period will be voluntary as offices are slowly opening up with limited capacity, depending on the availability of vaccines and the reduction in Covid-19 cases.
New Arrangements
When staff are required to officially return to Google’s offices in September, they “won’t look exactly the way you remember them” but “will include meals, snacks and amenities where possible,” Ms Cicconi said.
“We will even be welcoming our Dooglers back,” she added, referring to Google’s bring-your-dog-to-work group. There is now a dog park at its Mountain View campus called The Doogleplex.
The company advised workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19, but did not force them to return to work.
Google says long-term WFH arrangements are available. Employees can apply for up to 12 months “in very special circumstances.
A Different Approach
Google is taking a different approach from its tech rivals who have allowed most staff can continue remote work indefinitely. Twitter has said it will allow most of its employees to work from home permanently.
A number of big companies have plan to test so-called hybrid work arrangements, where employees split their time between home and office.
“None of us have this all figured out,” said Carolyn Everson, vice president of Facebook’s global business group, when talking about current work-from-home arrangements.
“We are making this up on the fly. The reality is we are all trying to figure it out together,” the senior Facebook executive told a panel hosted by Bloomberg.
Facebook will start to reopen its Silicon Valley offices at the beginning in May, after more than a year of working from home during the global pandemic.
Its largest offices won’t reach 50% capacity until early September, it said.
