Google CEO email delays return to September 2021, no permanent remote work

Google is delaying employees’ return to work until September 1, after which employees will be notified that they will be working in person at least three days a week, according to an email from CEO Sundar Pichai.

In an email viewed by CNBC and previously reported by The New York Times, there was a link to a question that describes additional expectations for office revenue, which expect workers to “live within travel distance” of offices.

“When we closed most of our offices in March, we had no idea what the outbreak would be,” Pichai said in an email to staff Sunday night. “We are embracing, we are constantly innovating, and with new vaccines, thanks to the incredible ingenuity of our medical and scientific community, a return to normalcy is now in sight.”

Pichai’s reference refers to the delay in office revenue and Google’s most comprehensive plan, which has more than 130,000 employees among the current epidemics. It was not immediately clear how well the new plans would apply to Google’s contractors or Alphabet’s other companies.

In July, Google became the first major company to announce that it would allow employees to work from home until mid-2021, an extension of its first timeline. In September, Google said it began working on a “hybrid” work model, with most employees saying they would like to return to the office at some point, but not full-time.

Other competing technology companies, such as Twitter and Facebook, have claimed that employees can work remotely “forever” or for the next decade so employees can move to other areas if they wish.

Google employees expect similar flexibility. But the December 14 memo suggests that Google will have tougher requirements than these competitors.

Pichai’s email states that employees in high-risk areas will be expected to work at least three days in the office, two days at home or anywhere better. They will also have the option of booking collaborative space for a dozen people and outdoor space for large group meetings. It will also have “booking” desks for employees who want to work in a quiet place, Pichai’s note says.

Pilot does not apply to everyone. Pichai noted that flexibility does not apply to employees who “spend more time with customers” in customer-facing roles, who have to be on site at data centers or labs, or who rely on specialized equipment to do the job.

Pichai’s email instructs employees to read the full questions, which is a lengthy website with additional details about office revenue. In it, the company says employees should return to the office assigned to them, and hopes that teams will perform better “when compiled by shared plans”, according to the Q&A version viewed by CNBC.

“You will have to work from the Google office you are assigned, and you will be expected to live within the travel distance of the offices you are assigned,” the company’s response continued. “Over time we are actively investing in our core strategy to create more roles and options in global offices.”

Pichai’s note states that the company will create office presentation booths “designed to send professional-quality broadcasts to large, distributed audiences.” It will improve its meeting and workplace products to “better control the gap between co-workers working from the office and those working from home”.

“Office cooperation is as important to Google’s future as ours,” Pichai said in an email Sunday. “What is still unpredictable for many regions poses some interesting challenges.”

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Pichai’s memo.

Read the full memo here:

Hi Google,

When we closed most of our offices in March, we had no idea what course the epidemic would take. It has been very difficult for the virus to increase in many parts of the world over the past few months. I know some of us are experiencing personal hardships and not seeing loved ones around us in the normal time of the year. Many of us are leaning more on our fellow Google than ever before.

The good news is that in the last nine months we have learned how to function almost perfectly. We embraced. We keep innovating. With the new vaccines on the horizon, thanks to the incredible ingenuity of our medical and scientific community, a return to normalcy is now in sight. So the question I know is on your mind: what’s next?

First, we face diversity in many parts of the world before life returns to normal. Our goal is to give Googlers everywhere the opportunity to return as soon as local conditions permit, and in some areas of APAC and EMEA it is encouraging to see Google already return to office. Other regions are not far away, so to help Google handle this even more uncertainty, we will be expanding our volunteer work-from-home option until September 1st. That means if your stock allows you to work from home from July 2021, you can do so now until the beginning of September 2021.

Second, we believe that office collaboration is as important to Google’s future as ours. The still unpredictability for many regions creates some interesting challenges and opportunities, and we are starting to bring Google back to the office. We are going to lean into them and experiment with continuous pilot designs to improve productivity, collaboration and overall well-being. Here is what you can expect in 2021:

• Flexible Work Week Pilot: To eliminate the friction of trips five days a week, we will pilot a hybrid model in which teams come together for “collaboration days” in the office and focus on other days for home or office. At sites that have reached level 2 on the risk assessment curve, we offer a 3/2 working week – at least three days in the office and two days at home (or where you work best). This pilot spends a lot of time with clients, staff or staff who need to be on site at data centers or labs – especially in customer-facing roles for each role or team. Depending on the specialized equipment to perform their tasks – so please read the full questions and expect further guidance from your product or operational front in 2021.
  
• Flexible office design: In offices that have reached levels 2, 3 and 4 in the risk assessment curves, you will find new options such as collaborative spaces for up to a dozen people and outdoor spaces for large group meetings. We also have booking desks for googlers who want to search for personal work in a quiet place (which, as we have learned, is not always possible at home).
  
• New collaboration technology: We will re-work on our tools and spaces to ensure a collaborative equality between Googleers working from home and Googleers sitting together in the office. For example, we create office presentation booths designed to send professional-quality broadcasts to large, distributed audiences. We also improve products such as meeting and workplace to better show the gap between co-workers working from the office and those working from home.

Finally, we test the hypothesis that a flexible work model can lead to greater productivity, cooperation and well-being. Those goals have always been at the center of Google’s workplace philosophy, and will be the center of us back and forth as we plan for the future. No company on our scale has developed a complete hybrid work model – even if a few begin to test it – it will be interesting to try. We will approach these pilots with an innovative and open mind and make rigorous measurements to help them learn and adapt.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to review our workplace together and I hope you have many questions. We will continue the discussion in future forums and follow up in more detail in early 2021.

– Sundar

Now look: The corona virus can always change how Big Tech works