Google and Facebook: “Only people who have been vaccinated can go to work”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared a roadmap to reopening offices for employees on July 28 (local time). According to this, vaccination is a condition for going to the office. He said in an email that vaccination is one of the most important ways to keep yourself and our society healthy for the months to come.

The policy will be rolled out to offices in the United States in the coming weeks and expand to other locations in the next few months. However, in line with the implementation, it is said that it will not be applied until widespread vaccination is possible in consideration of local regulations and vaccination status. There are also exceptions for people who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other protected reasons.

In response, it has also announced that it will update its telecommuting policy and extend the resumption of work originally scheduled for September until October 18. It is also aware that some people are worried about going to work due to the surge in delta-mutant infections, he said. In addition, under special circumstances, telecommuting will be expanded until the end of 2021.

It’s unknown how many of Google’s employees have been vaccinated, but Pichai says he’s reassuring that Google’s vaccination rates are high in regions where the vaccine is widely available, which is a big step in opening up offices to employees wishing to return early. That would be the reason, he added.

Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that he would be in the office three days a week from the beginning of September, but announced that he would extend his telecommuting status until October. In the US Apple Store, it will be mandatory to wear a mask from July 29th, but it is not mandatory for employees working at the store to be vaccinated.

It can be seen that major IT companies will continue to work hybrid work from home and work in the future. CEO Pichai also said that he would make his working style flexible in the future, and he plans to allow 100% remote work applications or office transfers. Face CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that half of the employees will be using remote work in the next 5 to 10 years, and Microsoft, Twitter, and Spotify are also announcing their intention to use a hybrid form and remote work in the future.

In any case, following this Google action, Facebook is also announcing that going to the US office is a condition of vaccination, so more companies are taking such measures in the future. Related information can be found here.