It looks like Google is going to extra lengths in the return-to-office battle with employees. In an internal memo, the company informed employees in-person attendance will be factored into their performance reviews, and if they did not comply with the three-day minimum for in-office work, it could reflect poorly.
According to a report by Fortune, the company isn’t planning to hire more full-time WFH employees and will consider fully remote arrangements for exceptional cases.
“Our employees have been in our hybrid work model for over a year now—spending three days a week in the office and the other two working from home,” Google spokesperson Ryan Lamont told Fortune in a statement. “It’s going well, and we want to see Googlers connecting and collaborating in person, so we’re limiting remote work to exception only.”
This move comes at a time when many workers don’t see the point in traveling to the office. In a March 2023 report from Executive Network, results from a global survey of 1,300 people showed only 28% of knowledge workers said their company is making it worthwhile to commute. And nearly half of them also said company isn’t making the trek any more attractive.
“Companies are offering more perks and increasing compensation to entice workers back to the office. But they need to make coming to the office more purposeful and ‘commute worthy,’” Jeanne Meister, an executive vice president at Executive Networks, said in a statement as reported by HRDive. “This will require employers to be clear on why and how working in the office can optimize collaboration and innovation,” she said according to the outlet. “Employers also need to provide equal opportunity for advancement and development, no matter where the work gets done.”
Google began making requests of asking employees’ return-t0-office last year as COVID-19 social distancing protocols started to soften.
“Our hybrid approach is designed to incorporate the best of being together in person with the benefits of working from home for part of the week. Now that we’re more than a year into this way of working, we’re formally integrating this approach into all of our workplace policies,” Lamont said.
Do you think other companies will start cracking down on in-office work soon?