Google Mandates Bay Area Employees to Return to Office

Google said it will end the voluntary work-from-home period and start having employees in the Bay Area and several other U.S. locations return to the office starting the week of April 4. Google’s Vice President said that it has been a long and challenging two years since the vast majority of our people started working from home

John Casey, Google Vice President said that 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. Casey said other offices in the U.S. and elsewhere will begin to return based on local conditions.

Google reported that the company had been relaxing some of its Covid-19 mandates in preparation for a return. The company hadn’t determined a new date for the official return since it last pushed off its Jan. 10 deadline amid the omicron surge.Google said it expects most workers to come into the office three days a week and have two days of remote work. Casey reported guidance such as dropping the mask mandate and testing mandates for fully vaccinated employees and reopening of amenities such as cafes, restaurants, massages and shuttles.

Employees entering physical workspaces still must either be fully vaccinated or have an approved accommodation.Nearly 14,000 of the company’s 156,500 full-time employees around the world have transferred to a new location or moved to fully remote work, and 85% of total applications have been approved. Employees who need more time before returning can also request a work-from-home extension.