Google extends remote work option due to pandemic — (FILES) In this file photo taken on May 16, 2019, a man takes a picture with his mobile phone of the logo of the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google as he visits the Vivatech startups and innovation fair, in Paris. – Google announced on September 1, 2021, that it is appealing the 500 million euro fine imposed in July by the French Competition Authority in the case of neighboring rights, the first decision by a European regulator on this subject. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

Google on Tuesday extended the option for its employees to work from home into next year due to the pandemic.
Returning to Google campuses will remain voluntary globally through January 10, with local offices given the discretion to decide when to require employees to return to their desks, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai.

“I’m happy to say that a large number of offices globally are already open for business, and we are welcoming back tens of thousands of Googlers on a voluntary basis,” Pichai said.

“The road ahead may be a little longer and bumpier than we hoped, yet I remain optimistic that we will get through it together.”
He promised Google workers 30 days’ notice before they would have to return to their offices, and announced they would be able to take off an extra day in October and December as “reset days” to “rest and recharge.”

Google, Facebook and other tech giants have delayed plans for workers to return to the campuses that were abandoned early in the pandemic in an effort to limit the spread of Covid-19.