December 3, 2021

On Thursday, Google announced an indefinite extension of the previously stated time for the return of employees to office.

The decision was taken after the sudden rise of a new variant of the coronavirus known as the Omicron variant. The decision was also influenced by workers’ resistance towards the company’s compulsory vaccination for workers in the United States.

The new decision will ensure that those who work remotely continue to do so, and the original January 10 deadline for personal work will no longer be feasible. While Google employees have physically returned to work in other countries, only about 40% of United employees have physically returned to work.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Google was one of the first companies to close its 85 offices in nearly 60 countries. The company asked its employees to work remotely. However, since the vaccination was still ongoing, the company had considered and agreed to have the employees back in the office.

For more information, read the original story in Reuters.