Google Delays Office Return to January Next Year

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Google, the world's largest search engine company, has postponed the return of its employees to the office until January next year.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 31st (local time), Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, announced on his blog that the return to the office has been postponed to January 10 next year. This marks the third time Google has delayed the office return date. In December last year, Google postponed the return to September 1 once, and in July, it announced a second postponement to October 18.

The reason Google, which had strongly advocated for returning to the office, postponed the return for the third time is interpreted as due to the spread of the highly contagious India-origin variant virus, the 'Delta variant.' In the US, as COVID-19 rapidly resurges, Amazon also postponed its planned office return from September to the first week of January next year. Other Silicon Valley IT companies such as Microsoft (MS), Facebook, and Apple have also announced that they will delay their office return dates to January next year.

CEO Pichai added that by postponing the office return, employees will be given more work flexibility. Even after the return date of January 10, employees in other countries and regions will be allowed to decide when to voluntarily end remote work. Additionally, there are plans to provide employees with vacations on October 22 and December 17 to allow time for 'recharging.'

As big tech companies consecutively delay their office return plans beyond the original schedule, concerns have arisen that economic growth may slow down. Bloomberg reported, "Concerns are emerging that economic growth could be hindered as Delta variant infections surge in the US."

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