Google warns hybrid workers about attendance, asks remote staff to consider coming back

[midian182]

A hot potato: Working from home and hybrid setups are the current controversial subjects among tech workers, with companies facing disruptive outcry and protests for telling employees to get back in the office. It's a sensitive area at Google, which is now clamping down on office attendance and asking remote workers to switch to hybrid.

According to an internal email, Google has updated its hybrid work policy this week. One of the changes is that it will start tracking hybrid employees' office badges to find out if they're coming in on the days they're supposed to – most are expected to be present three days per week. Additionally, these office attendance records will be recorded for performance reviews, and those workers who are consistently absent from the office will be sent reminders.

It's not just hybrid workers getting squeezed. An internal memo states that those working remotely full-time near a Google office should "consider" switching to hybrid as its "offices are where you'll be most connected to Google's community" – about 20% of Google employees work remotely full time.

The memo also states that going forward, the company will only consider remote work requests by exception only. Another document adds that workers already approved for remote work could have the privilege removed if the company determines "material changes in business need, role, team, structure or location."

Google offices: fun, but not fun enough to leave home for

Google Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi told employees in an email that there is "just no substitute for coming together in person," a line used by every other company demanding its workers stop enjoying the benefits of working from home.

"Of course, not everyone believes in 'magical hallway conversations,' but there's no question that working together in the same room makes a positive difference," Cicconi wrote in her email (via The WSJ). "Many of the products we unveiled at I/O and Google Marketing Live last month were conceived, developed and built by teams working side by side."

Any Google workers who do not adhere to the new policy rules will, after an extended period of time, be contacted by HR about the "next steps."

Covid-19 saw most of the world start working from home, and the majority of people found they were much happier and more productive with the arrangement. But the post-pandemic era has seen employees being called back to the office whether they like it or not. Amazon corporate staff staged a walkout over its return-to-office mandate, and Dell employees are equally mad at the prospect. Apple staff were so against Cupertino's return-to-work mandate that they launched a petition.

Most hybrid workers have an average of 2.5 days in the office each week. It means that although offices in cities reached 50% residency rates at the start of the year, that figure has barely increased as most firms opt for a hybrid work strategy.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98993-google-warns-hybrid-workers-about-attendance-asks-remote.html

 

[wiyosaya]

Since when did Martha Stewart become a member of the board?

 

[dangh]

This is great opportunity for people who don't want to follow corporate rules to actually create something new and maybe better, without relying on office micromanagement bs.
What;s funny, in my company (top 50) before pandemic it was quite normal to work 3 days from office, 2 from home, and Google sees it as 'privileges'. I fully agree that regular team time in physical office is fun, but for me it is fine if done once a month. I have a few juniors under my wings and I don't think I would do much better to transfer my knowledge in office, and remotely it is much easier to fight the urge of slapping that stupid head ;D (I'm just joking, they are alright, but code review sometime makes me... hmmmm...;p )

 

[kira setsu]

I worked from home for like 3 months during the covid times before that job let me and a bunch of others go, I didnt get the hype about it then and I dont now.

I guess if you own a home or some spacious townehome/condo with space to separate and make into a work area then it can be ok, but being stuck in my 2bedroom apartment which normally felt alright almost made me go nuts, sure I lost that job but I wasnt even mad I was a bit happy.

if the future goal really is working from home, just waking up and taking a few steps to start your grind of life with no buffer of a morning drive or bus or train ride....gotta say that sounds hellish and sad and I'd rather be hit by a bus and taken out than live it.

 

[3volv3d]

So we aren't ready for home workers after all. Open all the offices back up Ron.
This will change again once jobs are autonomous and there is no work. Either people will be allowed to work 2 days a week and paid enough to live or everyone's got to die.
I'm guessing the governing bodies of this here capitalistic mess are gonna wish for Covid part 2.

 

[axiomatic13]

Resist.

 

[VitalyT]

Comes from the guy who fired over ten thousand people, to get himself a fat bonus check, boy the Irony. He's just as rotten as Musk, making similar statements.

 

[Blqckout]

I worked from home for like 3 months during the covid times before that job let me and a bunch of others go, I didnt get the hype about it then and I dont now.

I guess if you own a home or some spacious townehome/condo with space to separate and make into a work area then it can be ok, but being stuck in my 2bedroom apartment which normally felt alright almost made me go nuts, sure I lost that job but I wasnt even mad I was a bit happy.

if the future goal really is working from home, just waking up and taking a few steps to start your grind of life with no buffer of a morning drive or bus or train ride....gotta say that sounds hellish and sad and I'd rather be hit by a bus and taken out than live it.

I like it more

 

[Julnor]

Just understand if you have children they'll probably be lorded over too. If people stopped having children it would honestly be funny.

 

[McMurdeR]

"just no substitute for coming together in person"

"there's no question that working together in the same room makes a positive difference"

I honestly don't know for certain if this is true or false, but like many of you who was forced to work remotely during the pandemic, the above wasn't my experience. With the right tools we collaborated remotely just as well or better than
we did in person, and the benefits of remote/hybrid working are easily demonstrable.

Naturally this depends on the nature of the business, but before people's lives are turned upside down again, an organization ought to be able to justify with clear evidence why they are doing this, beyond somebody having a "feeling" that something works better.

 

[Uncle Al]

Sounds like Google is going to make the same stupid mistake as others. Come on guys, invest your money in training your supervisors how to manage in-home workers. In the long run it will save you a ton of $$.

 

[human7]

I worked from home for like 3 months during the covid times before that job let me and a bunch of others go, I didnt get the hype about it then and I dont now.

I guess if you own a home or some spacious townehome/condo with space to separate and make into a work area then it can be ok, but being stuck in my 2bedroom apartment which normally felt alright almost made me go nuts, sure I lost that job but I wasnt even mad I was a bit happy.

if the future goal really is working from home, just waking up and taking a few steps to start your grind of life with no buffer of a morning drive or bus or train ride....gotta say that sounds hellish and sad and I'd rather be hit by a bus and taken out than live it.

There's definitely an adjustment period, and it takes longer than 3 months I think. I was in the same 2 bedroom apartment from Aug 2019 to early 2023. From August until covid I worked in the office, and then worked from home afterwards. It's definitely an adjustment period. I didn't miss the long traffic or filling up at the pump every couple days or getting up extra early to get to work on time. But, I also had less of an adjustment because most members of my team were in other parts of the country anyways, so I was already used to "working remote", even when in the office.

To fully get used to it, to adjust to just shutting off work in the evening and to be comfortable stepping away at lunch, to not go nuts while stuck in the same room all the time (and in my case, all night since my bedroom and office were the same room in that apartment), to get all the equipment you need at home and get used to it, to not be distracted by things at home, to avoid going to the refrigerator every hour and eating a snack, it takes time. And a mental readjustment. And once you think you've got it you might still find a month later that you are driving yourself towards burnout if you don't force yourself to take more breaks or what have you.

So, I wouldn't call it a magical, perfect working arrangement. But I wouldn't want to ever work in the office again. I don't see the value after factoring in the commute, the extra time required to get ready and unwind at the end of the day, or being any more productive in the office compared to being at home. Many times I am more productive at home (it's hard to do a direct comparison, but there are so many distractions in the office, except those distractions can feel like work because you are in the office, even if they are just a waste of time). The one thing I would say is valuable about being in the office is seeing your team mates in person, but I would say that a periodic get-together when everyone is remote is just as fine and perhaps even more valuable, because then you are truly eager to interact with everyone because you haven't seen them in a while (even the people you find a bit annoying).

Every office is different. Every job is different. Every company culture is different. And every person is different.

My company shut down the office where I live so I don't have to worry about it (truth be told they probably would have shut it down or downsized even without covid because it was only 50% utilized), but they have offices in other places that are more heavily used and they are forcing people to come back. After they repeatedly promised they never would do that.

And I get why people are mad about being forced to come back in the office. Apart from broken expectations which is frustrating in its own right, people just don't see the point in coming back in. They've got a fully functional home office, they've been just as productive all these years being remote, the commute is a big time and money suck, the company's arguments are just BS, and most people see it for what it is: it's a power grab. It's a soft power grab, since it is a subtle thing, but it's definitely designed to keep people physically tethered to the business.

There is a solution (apart from unionization), though, that ironically was stated by senior executive at my company which he said on a town hall: "if you don't agree to the values of the company, the way this company does things: leave the company."

And people are doing just that. Time will how long it takes upper management to realize that their best performers moved on because of their stupid decision to require people to be in-office.

 

[Puiu]

I like it more

It's not really about liking it more or less. With some exceptions, I just don't see working from work being productive. I've done it for more than half a year. It was a disaster. All of the work was done horribly and every single detail required so much wasted time with zoom calls etc.

Yeah, it was fun not wasting 2 hours going to the office and back, but that's about it. Working from home destroyed any semblance of work-life balance.

 

[Blqckout]

It's not really about liking it more or less. With some exceptions, I just don't see working from work being productive. I've done it for more than half a year. It was a disaster. All of the work was done horribly and every single detail required so much wasted time with zoom calls etc.

Yeah, it was fun not wasting 2 hours going to the office and back, but that's about it. Working from home destroyed any semblance of work-lie balance.

true ngl