Companies are rethinking their plans to send workers back to the office as the new omicron variant adds another level of uncertainty. Google and Ford are among those once again delaying their return-to-office plans.
Janelle Gale, vice president of human resources for Meta, said the latest decision recognizes “some aren’t quite ready to come back.”
The firm’s survey of 543 employers with 5.2 million workers showed on average 34% of remote-capable employees remain remote, but that would decline to 27% by the first quarter of 2022. However, the survey was conducted before news of omicron surfaced. “There will be a constant stream of new variants as well as surges and waning of cases,” Gostin said. “We shouldn’t disrupt normal business activity at every possible trigger.”
For companies that have already brought workers back to the office, it’s harder to retreat and allow them to be remote again. Still, some are considering new safety measures. “My first and foremost job is to protect all my staff,” Swig said. “I am going to err on the side of caution.” Lyft said the decision to let workers choose to work remotely for all of 2022 wasn’t tied exclusively to omicron but said new variants are a factor contributing to uncertainty.
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