Google is reportedly adding more restrictions for its remote employees. A new report claims that the tech giant is updating its “Work from Anywhere” policy, which was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy allowed employees to work from any location outside of their main office for up to four weeks per calendar year. According to internal documents reviewed by CNBC, Google’s updated policy will now count an entire week as remote work if an employee works from outside the office, even just a single day. However, the company is maintaining its existing hybrid schedule, which was also introduced during the pandemic, allowing employees to work from home (WFH) two days a week. It’s important to note that the WFA (Work From Anywhere) days are separate from this WFH policy and allow employees to work remotely from any other location, not just their homes.In the document that was circulated over the summer, shortly before the change took effect, Google wrote: “Whether you log 1 WFA day or 5 WFA days in a given standard work week, 1 WFA week will be deducted from your WFA weekly balance. WFA weeks cannot be used to work from home or nearby.”Earlier this year, Google offered voluntary buyouts to some full-time employees in the US and informed remote workers in specific teams that their positions could be affected by layoffs if they did not return to a hybrid work arrangement.
What the policy change means for Google employees
Under the updated policy, employees are not allowed to use their WFA (Work From Anywhere) days to work from a Google office in another state or country, citing “legal and financial implications of cross-border work.” Those working from different locations may also need to follow business hours that align with their local time zones, according to the guidelines.
The update does not apply to all employees and may exclude roles such as data centre staff or others who must be physically present. The document notes that violating the policy could lead to disciplinary action or termination.In an audio obtained by CNBC, John Casey, Google’s vice president of performance and rewards, said at the meeting that WFA “was meant to meet Googlers where they were during the pandemic. The policy was always intended to be taken in increments of a week and not be used as a substitute for working from home in a regular hybrid work week.”
How Google employees reacted to the new policy change
The topic was raised during a recent all-hands meeting. One of the highest-rated questions submitted through Google’s internal platform referred to the new update as “confusing.”The question was: “Why does even one day of WFA count as a whole week, and can we reconsider the restriction on using WFA weeks to work from home?”
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