Google to adopt ‘hybrid work week’ with remote options

Google will allow employees to work in a hybrid model, with most employees working out of their offices half of the week and others working remotely full-time, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Wednesday.

The company will offer more options for employees, including through remote work and more global locations, as it shifts to the “hybrid work week” model. 

“Our campuses have been at the heart of our Google community and the majority of our employees still want to be on campus some of the time. Yet many of us would also enjoy the flexibility of working from home a couple days of week, spending time in another city for part of the year, or even moving there permanently. Google’s future workplace will have room for all of these possibilities,” Pichai said in a blog post. 

In all, the changes mean about 60 percent of employees will come together in the office a few days a week, another 20 percent will work in new office locations and 20 percent will work from home, Pichai said. 

For the hybrid model, the majority of employees will spend about three days in the office and two days “wherever they work best.” The timeline may be different depending on roles and the need to be on-site for the nature of some work, according to the post. 

Pichai said by mid-June employees will have access to a process where they can apply to move to another office, and the company will offer opportunities for employees to apply for completely remote work. 

Google employees will also be able to temporarily work from a location other than their main office for up to four weeks per year, with approval, in an effort to allow for more flexibility.