Tech titans Google and Facebook have announced that the majority of workers who can carry out their jobs remotely will probably continue to do so throughout the end of the year. As Facebook prepares for reopening its offices from July 6 after considering factors like public health data and government guidance, Google tries to extend its work-from-home-policy for seven more months, starting from June 1.
Announcing back in April that Facebook’s approach to asking employees to come in would happen in a staggered fashion, Mark Zuckerberg saw the priority in “helping the rest of our community and local economy to get back up and running first,” while now they are still determining which employees will re-enter their offices. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that employees who need to return to the office will be able to do so starting in July, with enhanced safety measures in place.
As the coronavirus pandemic is creating a “double-double shift” for female employees—having to both work from home and homeschool their kids or look after sick or elderly relatives, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told Fortune, Facebook has given employees approximately $1,000 USD bonuses for their work from home and childcare costs, urging other employers to “relieve this stress.”