If local guidelines allow it, the company will start opening offices globally in June for some employees, but the bulk of the tech giant’s workforce will likely work from home until the end of the year, Google confirmed.
The announcement comes after Facebook said Thursday employees will be able to choose to work from home until the end of 2020.
Amazon and Slack made similar announcements in recent weeks, telling their employees to work from home through October and September respectively, indicating that regular office work may not return to normal for many until after the summer.
Tech companies in Silicon Valley and Seattle were among the first to mandate their employees work from home, even before local officials issued shelter-in-place orders. Public health experts say these actions likely contributed to the success of social distancing early on and may have prevented the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle from experiencing more severe outbreaks.
Though many states are beginning to reopen retail businesses, large companies are continuing to tell their employees to work from home, leaving many wondering when white collar workers will be able to return to the office. When that does happen, the physical space might look different with employees undergoing temperature checks before entering buildings and sitting six feet away from each other separated by barriers.