Tech Giant Google announced last week that it will crack down on employees who haven’t been reporting to its physical offices at least 3 days a week.
As part of the search giant’s modified hybrid work policy, attendance rates will now be included in performance reviews of the employees and track turnout through badge data. Based on the companywide email written by Fiona Cicconi, Chief People Officer of Google, staff who would like to work in a full-time remote setup will now be considered only by “exception”.
On the other hand, employees who were already approved to work fully in a remote setting may be subject to re-evaluation based on the changes in the company’s structure, role, team, need, or location. Cicconi even asked the already-approved remote workers to reconsider working hybrid.
“For those who are remote and who live near a Google office, we hope you’ll consider switching to a hybrid work schedule. Our offices are where you’ll be most connected to Google’s community”, the statement reads.
The newest company mandate is currently effective in the United States, and executives are reviewing local requirements to implement in other countries. In case employees will not follow the guidelines after a given period, the human resources team will begin sending reminders to those who frequently miss office attendance, except in specific circumstances such as air-quality-control warnings on the US East Coast.
In a statement made via a famous media outlet, Google spokesperson Ryan Lamont explained the importance of their hybrid system, which is designed exclusively for combining the benefits of both in-person and work-at-home setups in a 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”, he said.
Moreover, Google has declared cost-cutting measures on some of its employee perks like reducing office café hours and micro kitchens, and closing of shuttle buses and fitness centers as it continues to prioritize its work in AI.
In January, Alphabet implemented a labor reduction, eliminating over 6% or approximately 12,000 of its workers. Additionally, the company disclosed that it had incurred $564 million in relation to downsizing its office spaces. Due to it, Google Cloud employees were asked to share desks and go to the office on alternate days under the hybrid work policy.
Meanwhile, Alphabet Workers Union, a group that represents both direct and contract workers at Google, expressed their concerns about the tracking practices of their attendance and the inclusion of it in their performance evaluations without clear guidelines.
According to Chris Schmidt, a software engineer working for the said company, the implementation of the return-to-office mandate disregards the unusual life situations of its staff. He also emphasized the importance of “equitable and transparent” working conditions for employees.
At this point, Google has no further announcements about its policy.
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