What you need to know
- Google wants employees in the Bay Area and other U.S. locations to be back at the office starting April 4.
- As part of the hybrid setup, employees will spend three days a week in physical offices.
- The move marks the end of Google's voluntary work-from-home period.
Google's mandatory return-to-office plans for U.S. employees were supposed to begin last month, if not for quite a few delays. In April, it's finally going to happen.
John Casey, Google’s vice president of global benefits, told employees in an email that they should be back at physical offices by April 4. That said, some Googlers are allowed to work remotely on a full-time basis.
The new mandate applies to staff in the Bay Area and other Google locations in the country.
"It’s been a long and challenging two years since the vast majority of our people started working from home," wrote Casey, as spotted by CNBC. "But the advances in prevention and treatment, the steady decline in cases that we continue to see, and the improved safety measures we have implemented across our Bay Area sites now mean we can officially begin the transition to the hybrid work week."
Googlers will be expected to spend three days a week in their offices. However, some employees may need to be at their desks more than three days a week, depending on the nature of their work.
In March, the Mountain View-based tech giant plans to help employees move to the new hybrid environment.
The search giant confirmed in October last year that about 60% of its staff would work onsite "a few days a week," while another 20% would be able to relocate and work from any of Google's locations. The rest will be allowed to work from home permanently.
Fully vaccinated employees won't be required to wear a mask or get a COVID test. Googlers returning to the office must also have approved accommodations.
