Gasoline prices soar, Big Tech employees are ‘lazy’ back to the office

Tech companies have fared better during the pandemic, thanks in part to cloud-based engagement tools. Meanwhile, many employees are used to flexible schedules between work and family. Not only that, the soaring gas prices and traffic jams make going back to the office no longer as exciting as it was 2 years ago.

Megan Slabinski from the HR consulting firm Robert Half says two-thirds of employers say they want employees to return to “nearly full-time,” while a quarter of employees say they will. Find another job if that is required.

Starting from Monday (April 4), Google has asked most of its employees to work at least 3 days a week. However, in the plenary meeting, many opinions asked about the above policy of the company.

“Google made record profits during the pandemic. So why not re-evaluate the company’s return to work policy?”, citing a question many “applauded” sent to Dory, the search giant’s internal platform.

In response, CEO Pichai said that “really wants people to communicate and work together, so the company is trying to balance all the factors” and “will look closely at this issue”.

He also explained that returning to work is for employees to get to know new colleagues. “The company has hired a lot of people in the past two years, and they still don’t get a feel for how the company works.”

Even with Twitter, which announced in 2020 that employees can work remotely “forever”, there has been a change in saying that “distributed work will be much harder”. Parag Agrawal, who replaced Jack Dorsey late last year, said he hopes to see people in the office because working in person “will create a strong work culture in life”.

Find ways to retain employees

“All are very cautious because they don’t want to lose their key personnel,” said Colin Yasukochi, managing director of real estate agency CBRE.

Employee retention and satisfaction are more important than ever in the tech sector, with a record number of U.S. employees leaving. Requiring people to go to the office further increases these risks.

In June 2021, Amazon announced that it was applying the company’s original plan, requiring employees to return to work at the office 3 days a week instead of full time. But by October, Amazon said the decision would be up to individual parts.

Microsoft and Google have also added a 30-day “shifting” period to make it easier for employees to adapt to the new schedule. The search giant even said it approved 85% of requests to change work locations or switch to permanent remote work.

“You’ve all grown up, and the company believes you’ll do what’s right for you, your family, and your life, and respect the new boundaries,” said Prabhakar Raghavan, Google VP of operations. search, advertising and commercial activities in a recent letter to employees.

The company announced the reopening of on-site amenities such as a fitness center, free meals, games room and massage services.

Not only that, the redecoration of the office is also being invested to help employees get more excited about going to work. Brandi Susewitz, CEO of furniture company Reseat, which is a partner of Yelp, Uber and Oracle, says their order sales have doubled since December 2021.

“Rather than simply seating, they are looking to renovate the areas to be more like a hotel. The spaces are also redesigned to feel like being in a living room,” shared the director of this furniture company.

According to Vinh Ngo