Google returning to work April 4th with hybrid work model

Google employees in the Bay Area and at other locations will begin to make a hybrid return to the office the week of April 4, according to a memo sent to employees. 

“It’s been a long and challenging two years since the vast majority of our people started working from home,” John Casey, who serves as Google’s vice president of global benefits, said in an email to employees, according to CNBC. 

“But the advances in prevention and treatment, the steady decline in cases that we continue to see, and the improved safety measures we have implemented across our Bay Area sites now mean we can officially begin the transition to the hybrid work week,” Casey added.

Casey also noted that masking and testing mandates for fully vaccinated employees would be dropped, and amenities like cafes, restaurants, massages and shuttles would also reopen. 

Employees who require more time to return to the office can request a work-from-home extension, as almost 14,000 of the company’s 156,500 full-time employees globally have either transferred to a new location or been working remotely full time, CNBC reported. 

The announcement also noted that outside of the Bay Area, offices would begin to reopen based on the COVID-19 transmission rates in local communities.

The company’s announcement was the first update since it last pushed off its Jan. 10 reopening as a result of the uptick in infections during the omicron surge, according to the outlet. 

Since that surge, worldwide COVID-19 cases have declined consistently as many states across the country have moved to drop certain COVID-19 policies such as mask mandates. 

The Hill has reached out to Google for comment.