Alphabet Inc’s Google from April 4 will require employees back about three days a week in some of its U.S., U.K. and Asia Pacific offices, its first step to end policies that allowed remote work because of COVID-19 concerns.
An internal email on Wednesday seen by Reuters told employees in the San Francisco Bay Area that “advances in prevention and treatment, the steady decline in cases we continue to see and the improved safety measures we have implemented … now mean we can officially begin the transition to the hybrid work week.”
Google joins a wave of technology and finance companies that have begun mandating a return to office. While some big employers have embraced voluntary work-from-home policies permanently, others including Google are betting that it is best to push in-person interactions among colleagues.
Google expects most employees will be in offices about three days a week, with some variance by team and role.
Everyone coming to the office must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exemption, according to the email from John Casey, Google’s vice president of global benefits. Unvaccinated workers without an exemption will be given an option to seek one or apply for permanent remote work.
