Tech goliath Google has decided to delay its return to the office once more in light of the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant, Omicron. Originally slated for a 10 January 2022 return to the office, the date has been pushed further into 2022, but a new confirmed date has yet to be revealed.
In a memo to employees, Google’s VP of global security, Chris Rackow, stated that the company would wait until 2022 to re-evaluate the situation and determine when the appropriate time to make a return will be. This i notably the fourth time the company has delayed its return to the office space.
Back in August, CEO Sundar Pichai announced that as of January 2022, the company would allow country and regional management to determine when they would end voluntary work-from-home policies based on their unique local conditions, promising at least a 30-day heads-up for employees.
According to his latest memo to employees, Rackow also mentions that Google has reopened up to 90 percent of its offices in the US, while close to 40 percent of employees have chosen to make a return.
While Rackow did not mention the Omicron variant as the reason for the delay, the new Covid variant has raised alarm bells all around the world, and has led to extra precautions after the World Health Organization listed it as a ‘variant of concern’. Scientists are currently working to determine how it may compare with the Delta variant in terms of transmissibility and severity.
Public health experts are still assessing the risks of Omicron, which has been found to have several distinct mutations that suggest it could spread quickly and potentially bypass the immunity provided by vaccinations and previous infections.
