Technology |

Coronavirus: Google announces phased-in return to offices, but adds home-expenses ‘allowance’

Google will start re-opening more offices July 6 “assuming external conditions allow,” and by September most employees who want to return to office work should be able to do so on a limited basis, the company’s CEO said.

CEO Sundar Pichai promised “rigorous health and safety measures” to ensure proper social distancing and sanitization. “The office will look and feel different than when you left,” Pichai said in a letter to employees this week posted on the company’s blog.

Starting July 6, Google will allow employees to return to offices on a limited basis that would restrict worker numbers to about 10% of buildings’ capacities, Pichai said. That means an employee would probably come into the office “one day every couple of weeks,” he said.

“Our goal is to be fair in the way we allocate time in the office, while limiting the number of people who come in, consistent with safety protocols,” Pichai said.

By September, if conditions allow, the Mountain View digital advertising giant will be moving toward filling offices to 30% capacity, “which would mean most people who want to come in could do so on a limited basis, while still prioritizing those who need to come in,” Pichai said. He did not specify how frequently Google expects employees would be in the office when the firm meets the 30%-capacity target.

“There are a limited number of Googlers whose roles are needed back in office this calendar year,” Pichai said. “If this applies to you, your manager will let you know by June 10. For everyone else, returning to the office will be voluntary through the end of the year, and we encourage you to continue to work from home if you can.”

Company leaders expect most employees will largely work from home for the rest of the year so Google will be “giving each Googler an allowance of $1,000” to pay for equipment and office furniture, Pichai said.

Pichai added that “chance encounters in the office” have led to important innovations at Google, “and it’s clear this is something many of us don’t want to lose.” The firm is gathering and studying data and feedback from employees about their work experiences during the pandemic, he said.

“I believe that ultimately these insights will lead to more flexibility and choice for employees as they consider how to work in the future,” Pichai said.

Twitter has told its employees that most of them can work from home “forever” if they wish, and Facebook has said that within 10 years it expects half its employees to be working remotely.