MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–Credit unions that continue to discuss how to handle back-to-work arrangements moving forward may want to Google and answer. Literally.
The Internet search giant has announced a series of moves it said are designed to offer employees more workplace flexibility, including allowing a fifth of its staff to work from home permanently and another fifth of workers to shift to a different geographic location.
In an email to employees, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent, Alphabet, said the company envisions about 20% of staff will work from home on a permanent basis, while another 20% of staff will shift to new offices. The remaining 60% of staff will work from their current location. Employees will have to apply for both location-change options, with approval being up to their managers, according to Alphabet.
Google is also moving to a hybrid workweek, where employees work from offices about three days a week, and two days “wherever they work best,” Pichai said in the email reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In addition, Google will offer four weeks per year where staff can work from anywhere with manager approval, a move that aims to give employees more flexibility around summer and holiday travel, according to the company.
“The future of work is flexibility,” Pichai said, adding compensation would be adjusted for employees who change locations.
What Other Companies Are Doing
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced he expects as much as half of the company’s workforce, numbering more than 45,000, to work from home within 10 years.
Major banks, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan, have said they expect most of their workforces to return to the office following the pandemic.
Google, which has 140,000 employees, is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. and most of its staff work in the Bay Area. However, it has offices in 19 states, with campus locations including New York City, Atlanta and Austin, Texas,