How will companies handle bringing employees back to the office after the pandemic? That’s the question executives from Google, Netflix, and other big companies are asking right now.
A Different Future: Introducing the Flexible Work Schedule
As of now, Google plans to start bringing employees back to the office in September 2021. In the meantime, they’re devising a plan that will allow employees to keep working from home for part of the week.
Sundar Pichai, a chief executive from Alphabet, announced the plan via an email to staff.
Google’s flexible workweek: will working from home become permanent?
Employees would visit the office three days a week for collaboration purposes. The rest of the time, they’d be working from home.
Other companies, such as ViacomCBS, are considering similar plans. Pichai said that this flexible style of work could increase productivity and improve quality of life.
Not everyone agrees. Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, said he hasn’t seen any positives come from this year’s shift to remote work.
Nonetheless, he does believe the typical workweek will remain shorter after the pandemic.
Procedures and Vaccines: Changes in 2021
Google is planning on implementing other changes to prepare for the return of employees. These include office spaces redesigned for social distancing.
Pichai indicated the company has no plans to mandate the covid-19 vaccine. Instead, they’re recommending employees get the vaccine whenever it becomes available.
The pandemic has changed the structure of the corporate world. Some companies, such as Facebook, are considering allowing permanent remote work. However, there’s a catch.
Remote work allows employees to move to areas with a lower cost of living. Facebook and other companies will be adjusting pay to match the cost of living in the current location of their remote workers. Therefore, workers who’ve left expensive states like California may be facing a reduction in salary.