Oakland, California. – With the epidemic still in full swing and the first doses of the corona virus vaccine beginning to ship to the United States, Google has postponed returning to the office for a few months until September 2021.
But while it extends the long-term working hours for most of its employees, Google is proposing a series of proposed changes that could significantly change the way its employees and those in other technology companies perform.
In an email to employees Sunday night, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said the company was testing the idea of a “flexible work week” if it was safe to return to the office. Under the pilot program, employees are expected to work in the office at least three days a week on “cooperation days” while working from home on other days.
“We are testing the hypothesis that a flexible work model can lead to greater productivity, collaboration and well-being,” Mr Pichai wrote in an email to The New York Times. “No company of our size has developed a complete hybrid work model – even if a few begin to test it – it will be interesting to try.”
Mr. One thing that was not mentioned in Pichai’s email was whether employees should be vaccinated against corona virus before returning to the office. Google spokeswoman Gina Cigliano said Google has recommended that employees receive the vaccine when their health care provider or local public health authority says it is available to them. Google has said it is looking for opportunities to make the Covit-19 vaccine available to its workers from mid-late 2021, but only after high-risk and high-priority people globally receive the vaccines.
The timing of Google’s plan to publish a flexible work schedule is still in the air because of the different status of the corona virus in different countries. The new tables do not apply to some Google employees, such as workers who spend too much time in its data centers or labs with customers or employees.
In March, Google was one of the first companies to start hiring employees from home, before other companies realized the dangers of working in one of the closed offices. This has repeatedly delayed the time it takes employees to return to office from January to July 2021 and now until September.
After such long-distance work, companies are wrestling with how to transfer workers back to offices.
Last month, Viacom told CBS employees that most of its employees expect them to split their time between working at home and in the office. In doing so, the company said, a hybrid model would allow greater flexibility for employees, while at the same time reducing its real estate needs and reducing costs.
Reid Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, said he did not see “any advantage” from working at home, and that coming together to discuss ideas in person was a “pure negative.” However, he said he expects the five-day work week to become four days in the office and one day remote after the outbreak.
Other companies may take their notes from Google, which has been a pioneer in many aspects of working life, especially in technology companies. Google’s open and casual offices have established a map for a generation of start-ups, while its office offers such as free snacks and appreciation services have spread around the corporate world.
As part of its flexible workspace, Google said it plans to place new office designs in areas at low corona virus risk. It plans to offer employees options such as booking collaborative seats for a dozen people and securing outdoor spaces for large gatherings. For employees who need quiet space outside the home, Google will provide desktop desktops in its offices.
Google also plans to create new ways to help employees reduce the gap between work experience in the office, and especially work from home, especially for employees who do not live in remote work-related locations. The company says it will create office presentation booths to send professional-quality broadcasts online to groups.