After announcing last year new remote work policies, Google on Wednesday confirmed it expects around 20 percent of its employees to work from home. Google’s new policies reflect the growing recognition within the tech industry that its employees want more flexibility in terms of when and where they work — flexibility enabled by the industry’s own products and services.
Due to the pandemic, Google previously said its employees would work remotely until at least September 2021 and that it would consider implementing a “hybrid workforce model” that asked employees to spend at least some time in the office.
On Wednesday, the company confirmed to ZDNet that it expects around 60 percent of Google employees to meet with their teams in the office a few days a week. It expects another 20 percent to work from different office locations, while 20 percent are expected to work from home.
Employees will be offered opportunities to permanently work remotely, or to transfer to other offices, based on their role and team needs. In addition, Google plans to offer employees up to four “work from anywhere” weeks per year, up from two weeks.
Google expects its hybrid work model to evolve over time, given the wide scope of the business. Specific policies will be set at the product and function level.
In a statement to ZDNet, a Google spokesperson noted the way Google plans to leverage its own cloud collaboration platform, Google Workspace. Google is building new types of reconfigurable indoor and outdoor collaboration spaces, the spokesperson said, while working to improve technology tools like Google Workspace to help employees equally participate and contribute.
