Reportedly, Google plans to crack down on its inconsistent employees who are not coming to the offices regularly. On Wednesday, the company was found to have updated its hybrid work policy, according to which office badge attendance will be tracked and the workers who are needed in the offices but are failing to appear will be confronted. Further, according to the internal memos that were viewed by CNBC, the attendance of the employees will be included in their performance reviews. Moreover, according to reports, the employees are now required to come to the physical offices at least three days a week.
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According to a mail that was sent out to the employees at the end of the day on Wednesday by Google’s Chief People Officer, Fiona Cicconi, doubling down on office attendance is required. The reason that was given for the same was that there is “no substitute for coming together in person.” The email further read, “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.” The email mentioned that many of Google’s products that were launched at I/O and Google Marketing Live the previous month were conceived, developed, and built by teams that were working together, side by side.
Cicconi’s note mentioned that “three days per week” will be included in the performance reviews, and the teams are required to send out a reminder to those who are inconsistent with in-office attendance. According to CNBC, the Chief People Officer asked the remote workers to consider their mode of working. The officer asked the workers who are living close to the Google offices to re-consider their mode of working since the physical office is the place where they will stay connected with Google the most.
In the U.S., the company has decided to track attendance using badge data. One of the documents reveals that the executives are now studying local requirements to implement the policy in other nations. The new fully remote work will be granted only by “exception,” and those who fail to follow these policies will be approached by HR for the “next steps.”
These policy updates are being done to bring back the employees in the physical office. Back in 2021, tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple attempted to bring people back when the employees expressed their concerns. The Google staffers questioned if it was necessary since the tech giant made record profits during the pandemic. After facing such a fallout, the company let 20% of its employees telecommute. However, since April 2022, the employees have been required to be in the physical offices at least three days a week. The company even tried to woo the staffers by organising a private Lizzo concert, hiring marching bands, and bringing the city mayor to celebrate the returns. Then, in April, Google discontinued its requirement for the COVID vaccine to enter office buildings.
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Such stringent policies are introduced in the wake of strong competition driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology, especially when the tech giant is placed against the well-positioned ChatGPT, notably backed by Microsoft, that is rapidly gaining success. The company is also trying to crack down on the leaks that are coming out of the company itself. This crackdown also comes at a time when the tech company is reducing its real estate footprint.
