Google is tightening its policies on in-office work. The company announced on Wednesday that most employees must follow its three-day-per-week attendance rule that was announced last year. It will now track office badge data and include attendance in worker performance reviews. After embracing remote work during the pandemic, Google has now informed employees that it will only allow full-time remote work in exceptional cases. - The move is meant to encourage more in-person collaboration and team connectivity, according to Google's HR chief Fiona Cicconi.
- Managers will now send reminders to employees who are consistently absent from the office, and badge data will be used to track in-office turnout in the U.S.
- Alphabet, Google's parent company, had 190,711 employees at the end of Q1, after laying off around 12,000 employees (6% of the workforce) in January.
In 2021, Google announced a $7B investment in new offices and data centers in the U.S., anticipating a return to in-person work as the pandemic subsided. - Other tech companies, including Meta, are following a similar trend, requiring employees to work in offices at least part-time.
- In February, Amazon said it will require most of its corporate and tech employees to return to the office for a minimum of three days per week.
|
