Google is pushing the date back to the office.
Employees of the technology giant will not have to report to the office until at least Jan. 10, CEO Sundar Pichai said on Tuesday.
“Beyond January 10, we will allow countries and locations to make decisions about when to complete volunteer work from home based on local conditions, which vary widely between our offices,” Pichai said, adding that employees they will get at least 30 days ’notice before they are asked to report to work.
Google had previously announced the return dates to the office on September 1 and October 18 this year, and had forced all staff returning to the office to be vaccinated.
Other large technology companies, such as Facebook and Apple, have also told employees they will not have to work in person until at least January.
Delays occur as the Delta variant increases coronavirus cases worldwide, leading some countries to re-impose travel restrictions and mask mandates.
In New York City, only 23 percent of office workers are back at their desks, while 41 percent are expected to return by the end of September, according to a Partnership for New York City poll published last week.
In January next year, 76% of employers said they expected to have employees in the office again.
But as many white-collar workers agree to work from home, some tech companies plan to make the option permanent.
Google says it will allow many employees to work voluntarily from home forever, but plans to cut the salaries of those living in the suburbs and other cheaper regions of the country.
“Googlers” who previously worked in Manhattan but live on the outskirts of Connecticut will see 15% pay cuts if they decide to work from home forever, while employees in other parts of the country could see 25% pay cuts, according to a payment calculator the company launched in August.
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have also warned that employees coming out of big expensive cities to work remotely from cheaper places will be reduced.