Tech giant Google was set to reopen its United States-based offices after months of closure due to the pandemic on Jan. 10, 2022.
But now, with the emergence of the omicron variant, employees can continue remotely for the near future, according to reporting by CNBC.
Full-time employees received an email from Google security VP, Chris Rackow, on Thursday saying that the company is likely to reevaluate the state of things in the new year, according to the outlet.
As of now, none of the U.S. offices will be adopting required in-person work again in the hybrid, three days a week model originally planned.
The company has already put off the return of in-person work multiple times throughout the pandemic.
Some locations will be able to determine on their own when their local employees can return, according to the email as reviewed by CNBC. The company's "Local Incident Response Teams" are assisting in evaluating each site’s "risk level."
Workers can still come into the office "where conditions allow, to reconnect with colleagues in person and start regaining the muscle memory of being in the office more regularly," the email said.
"We will be re-learning our working rhythms together in 2022, which brings new opportunities and new challenges as we experiment with more flexible ways of working," said the email.
As of right now, 90% of Google’s U.S. offices are open. About 40% of U.S. employees came in to work recently, a Google spokesperson told KCBS Radio in an email.
"Our goal is to provide greater choice and flexibility. We’re giving employees who welcome the chance to come into the office the option to do that wherever we can, while allowing those who aren’t ready to keep working from home," said the spokesperson.
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