Google to Try a ‘Hybrid’ Work From Home Model

With coronavirus cases still mounting, most Google employees do not want to come back to work everyday which is why the tech giant will be trying a “hybrid” work-from-home model.

According to a recent Google survey of its employees, most want to return to the office at some point, but not everyday.

Google is planning “hybrid” models for future work, including rearranging its offices, said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in an interview with Time magazine on Wednesday.

The survey revealed that 62% of Google employees want to return to their offices at some point, but not every day. 10% of Google employees — down from 20% surveyed in May — said they don’t want to come into the office at all in the future. 15% said they’d only want to come into the office “Ad hoc” or for particular events.

“I see the future as being more flexible,” Pichai said. “We firmly believe that in-person, being together, having a sense of community is super important when you have to solve hard problems and create something new so we don’t see that changing. But we do think we need to create more flexibility and more hybrid models.”

“It’s always made me wonder — when I see people commuting two hours and away from their family and friends on a Friday, you realize they can’t have plans,” Pichai noted, referring to Silicon Valley’s long work commutes. “So I think we could do better.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.