Google Hopes To Start Reopening More Offices On July 6

'We’ll have rigorous health and safety measures in place to ensure social distancing and sanitization guidelines are followed, so the office will look and feel different than when you left,' Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in an email. '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.'

Google hopes to start reopening more of its buildings beginning July 6 for Googlers looking to return to in-office work, according to an email to employees today from CEO Sundar Pichai.

Offices would begin reopening in unspecified cities “assuming external conditions allow,” Pichai said, in apparent reference to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and municipalities’ lifting of restrictions that forced many businesses to close and require employees to work remotely from home.

Pichai reiterated that the Mountain View, Calif.-based technology giant will take a gradual and phased approach to reopening its offices, “taking both team and individual needs and preferences into account.”

“We are taking slow, deliberate steps to begin re-opening offices in areas where they still remain largely closed,” his email stated. “We’re also investing more in your work-from-home setup to make sure you have what you need to be productive and comfortable.”

Googlers who need to return to office work – or, depending on capacity, want to return -- will have the opportunity to return on a limited, rotating basis, according to Pichai. That could translate into employees working one day in the office every couple of weeks for roughly 10 percent building occupancies, he said.

“We’ll have rigorous health and safety measures in place to ensure social distancing and sanitization guidelines are followed, so the office will look and feel different than when you left,” Pichai told employees. “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.”

Google hopes to further scale the rotation around September to build to 30 percent office capacities over time, which would allow most employees who want to return to the office to do so on a limited basis, while still prioritizing those who need to return, Pichai said.

“There are a limited number of Googlers whose roles are needed back in office this calendar year,” Pichai said in his email. “If this applies to you, your manager will let you know by June 10. For everyone else, returning to the office will be voluntary through the end of the year, and we encourage you to continue to work from home if you can.”

Google, which expects most employees will be working from home for the remainder of the year, will be giving each worker the equivalent of $1,000 for equipment and office furniture. It also will continue experimenting with sharing virtually more in-office experiences focused on health, wellness and fun, such as fitness with gFit instructors, cooking and nutrition lessons from Google chefs and Kids@Home Storytime.

Pichai advised employees who’ve inquired about temporarily relocating to be closer to their families while working from home to consult their managers and review guidelines including information about tax filings and health coverage/eligibility.

“Moving ahead, we are looking to develop more overall flexibility in how we work,” Pichai said. “Our campuses are designed to enable collaboration and community -- in fact, some of our greatest innovations were the result of chance encounters in the office -- and it’s clear this is something many of us don’t want to lose. At the same time, we are very familiar with distributed work, as we have many offices around the world and (are) open-minded about the lessons we’ll learn through this period. We continue to study all the data and feedback you’re sharing on your current experience. I believe that ultimately these insights will lead to more flexibility and choice for employees as they consider how to work in the future.”

Earlier this month, Pichai had informed employees that those who needed to return to the office likely could start in June or July with enhanced safety measures and reimagined office experiences in place, but said he expected the majority would continue to work remotely through 2020. Google said it would continue to operate in accordance with health guidance from the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and other authorities where it has offices.

Google on March 10 was among the first major U.S. companies to advise its North American employees to work from home, if their roles allowed, to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. It previously had given employees in Google’s San Francisco Bay Area and New York City offices the option to work remotely on a voluntary basis.