In a blog post on Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told their employees that, beginning on July 6th some will be able to return to the office, though it will be limited to 10% building capacity. He also said that, this decision gradually will follow the guidelines from public health authorities.
“We’ll have rigorous health and safety measures in place to ensure social distancing and sanitization guidelines are followed,” he wrote, “so the office will look and feel different than when you left. Our goal is to be fair in the way we allocate time in the office, while limiting the number of people who come in, consistent with safety protocols.”
The decision to start reopening Google’s offices marks a contrast with Twitter and Facebook, both of which have announced plans to support remote work on a permanent basis going forward. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last week that by 2030, he believes as many as half of Facebook employees could be working remotely.
Google had previously said that those working from home due to the pandemic could continue to do so through the end of the year if they chose.
Google hopes to allow up to 30% of building capacity to be filled by September — “which would mean most people who want to come in could do so on a limited basis, while still prioritizing those who need to come in,” Pichai wrote.
Finally, Pichai said Google will be granting each employee a $1,000 allowance so that they may expense “equipment and office furniture” necessary for working from home for the remainder of the year.
