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Google will keep "nearly all" of its workforce—around 200,000 employees and contractors—working from home for another year, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly made the decision last week.
The long timeline gives more certainty for Googlers who are making school and housing decisions for the coming academic year. Previously Google workers were due back in the office in January.
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Google Will Keep 200,000 Workers Home Through Next Summer
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
TOO BAD YOU CAN'T BUY a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin
real fast and freak everybody out.
-- Jack Handey, The New Mexican, 1988.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by GreatOutdoors on Tuesday July 28 2020, @11:36PM (8 children)
I imagine that google is making this long term decision for the reason they state, but also in the back of their mind is the likely millions that will be saved by not heating, cooling, maintaining, expanding, providing food, drinks, and other amenities at their locations. A lot of money is spent on infrastructure, and I think that companies are coming around to the fact that a lot of people can work from home and be just as efficient, as well as having an improved quality of life due to saving money on fuel and possibly babysitting, etc.. There will be those who slack because they are not self-starters, but those people could be weeded out pretty reasonably while growing the number of self-starting employees. Most good bosses know the employees that are getting good quality work done, and those that aren't.
I expect to see a lot more of this coming. I am already one of these employees (Not a Google employee, but now a work from home employee).
Yes, I did make a logical argument there. You should post a logical response.
(Score: 4, Touché) by chromas on Tuesday July 28 2020, @11:58PM (3 children)
Also, remember all the sexual harassment issues spilling out awhile back? Problem solved! *hand dusting gesture* Creepy co-workers only have themselves to touch now.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @12:17AM (2 children)
The horniness will build up and they will switch to sexting and online gaslighting each other. The men will expose their full nudity on Google Hangouts and the women will cancel the men for not giving them enough attention.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 29 2020, @04:25PM (1 child)
Ah yes, when a woman choosing to NOT look at your genitalia makes you a victim of cancel culture.
Boy, you can really make yourself a victim in every situation!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 31 2020, @03:05AM
That's, uh...not really what he said.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @12:26AM
As Bucky Fuller once noted (I'm pretty sure, but can't find the quote), now Google can open up that office space for living space (just add a few walls for distancing) and start to solve the Bay Area housing crisis. Maybe donate some space to homeless and get a tax break...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @01:04AM
Hopefully Google (and other companies) will do some experimenting here.
Some people can't, or don't want to work from home. They can go to the office. Others will do better working from home. A company as big as Google has plenty of room for both. Some teams might be fully office, or fully remote. Others might be mixed.
Eventually, employers will realize that office space is a waste of money, and start encouraging people to work from home.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @01:54AM (1 child)
CDC, ASHRAE and others actually recommend not turning off HVAC systems during the pandemic. If you even bring some people back to an office, they recommend increasing ventilation, running equipment a couple hours before and after occupancy, upgrading filters to MERV 13 or better, etc. This all increases energy costs and can mostly be done with existing infrastructure. And thats before considering other additional equipment, like UVGI, portable HEPA filter fans, humidifiers, etc. that are also recommend in certain applications.
Many large institutions (e.g. campuses) are realizing all kinds of new issues with their deferred maintenance backlog.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @02:35AM
I think this is about controlling the virus. That won't be a factor long term.
My last office turned the air conditioner off at 6pm, which was awesome considering about half the employees stayed until at least 7.