Google to reboot offices in phases; offers $1000 to staffers working from home

Alphabet-owned search engine platform Google will reopen its offices globally in a phased manner from July 6.

Employees who are expected to work from home this year will also be given a $1,000 allowance to purchase necessary equipment and office furniture, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday.   

The offices will initially function at a 10% capacity, and be scaled up to a 30% rotation programme by September, the Mountain View, California headquartered firm said.

“Assuming external conditions allow, we will start to open more buildings in more cities. This will give Googlers who need to come back to the office—or, capacity permitting, who want to come back—the opportunity to return on a limited, rotating basis,” it said. 

The technology company said that it will put in place rigorous health and safety measures, ensure social distancing and follow sanitisation guidelines. 

“Our goal is to be fair in the way we allocate time in the office, while limiting the number of people who come in, consistent with safety protocols,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said.

The company will continue to experiment with sharing more in-office experiences virtually, with a focus on health and wellness of its employees, the blog post added.

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In March, the firm had allowed all its employees to work from home to curb the spread of coronavirus. It also set up a fund for temporary employees and third-party staff members affected by Covid-19. Additionally, the firm pledged over $800 million to help small businesses and partnered with Apple to use contact tracing technology to prevent the spread of the pandemic.