The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Google and its parent company, Alphabet, will allow its employees to continue working from home until at least June 2021. Google adds to the growing list of top companies, such as Twitter, Square and Facebook, that have previously announced that they’d continue the remote-work setup for the foreseeable future. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both Twitter and Square, pushed the boundaries and said that he’s open to having his employees work from home “forever.”
The announcement from Google is breathtaking, as it affects about 200,000 workers. In light of the company’s high status and reputation, its policy offers the green light for other companies that may have been sitting on the fence deciding whether or not to extend the work-from-home policies to now follow Google’s lead.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, wrote an email to his employees stating, “To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021, for roles that don’t need to be in the office. I hope this will offer the flexibility you need to balance work with taking care of yourselves and your loved ones over the next 12 months.”
It’s been reported that Pichai unilaterally made the decision after internal debates and conversations. Pichai recognized and empathized with the dilemma facing working families, particularly those with young children that may need help with homeschooling. Continuing the remote work would help ameliorate some of these challenges.
German-based Siemens, the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, announced that 140,000 of its employees may work from wherever they want for two or three days a week. The work-anywhere— several days a week—decision was due to a global staff survey, in which employees desired greater flexibility in their approach to work.
Source: Forbes
