Google says it is giving employees more options as the company begins to invite staff back to workplaces - including the opportunity for some to work from home permanently.
Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, unveiled a hybrid work model in December, with workers usually coming into the office three days a week. Pichai told employees in a memo this week he expects 20% of the organization to operate remotely permanently.
"For more than 20 years, our employees have been coming to the office to solve interesting problems - in a cafe, around a whiteboard, or during a pickup game of beach volleyball or cricket," CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post. "Our campuses have been at the heart of our Google community and the majority of our employees still want to be on campus some of the time."
Employees who are not expected to be present at company sites on a regular basis will be placed on a hybrid schedule, spending about three days in the office and two days "wherever they work best," according to Pichai's Wednesday post. He also mentioned that office time would be devoted to collaboration. When employees come to the office to meet with their teams, they will be guided by their product areas and job functions.
Another 20% of workers, according to the company, could work from a Google office other than their normally assigned one if they so desired. The remaining 40% will work from their normal office campus a few days per week.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Google was one of the first big companies to allow its vast employee base to work from home. Employees will not be required to return to the office in any capacity until September of this year.
Google unveiled new features for its offices in a post-pandemic work environment last week. They include inflatable balloon walls, standing desks that adjust to individual employees' preferences with the swipe of an employee badge, and outdoor camp-style workspaces.
