Google announced Wednesday that employees at its Bay Area offices and several other US locations will officially return to the office on April 4th. Starting that date, the company will kick off its previously announced hybrid work approach, where it expects most staffers to be in the office approximately three days per week.
In December, Google delayed a planned January 10th return to office until sometime in 2022, and now we know when that return will be. The company will use the month of March to help transition to the new hybrid model, according to Google spokesperson Lora Lee Erickson.
Depending on their job, some employees may need to be onsite more than three days a week. Workers who want more time before they return to the office can request an extension. And some staffers will be remote full-time — nearly 14,000 Google employees globally have transferred to a new location or switched to fully remote work since the company launched a new work location tool in June, Erickson says.
Anyone who visits a Google site will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved accommodation. Unvaccinated employees with an approved accommodation will have to test regularly and wear a mask. However, US-based remote employees who don’t go to a Google office are not required to be vaccinated.