Google tells employees it won’t follow Amazon’s strict RTO policy — as long as they stay productive

• Google leaders tried to assuage fears that it will follow Amazon’s new strict RTO mandate.
• Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai warned that staff must remain productive at home.
• The company has shifted more offices to hot-desk workspaces, which it’s calling “neighborhoods.”

Google has no immediate plans to order employees back to the office five days a week, leaders told staff in a town hall meeting last month, assuaging fears among staff that the company might follow Amazon’s new RTO mandate.

Amazon announced last month that staff would be expected to return to the office five days a week, a shock decision that caused backlash among some workers. It also raised concern among employees at some of Amazon’s more hybrid-friendly rivals, including Google, where staff are expected in the office just three days a week.

At Google’s most recent “TGIF” (Thank God It’s Friday) all-hands, remote work was top of mind for staff. One of the most popular questions submitted asked whether, in light of Amazon’s announcement, Google could reaffirm its commitment to hybrid work, according to two employees who watched the meeting.

John Casey, Google’s vice president of global compensation and benefits, told employees that although nothing was changing and that the current system worked well, the company believed being in the office at least three days a week was important, according to the two employees, whose identities Business Insider confirmed and who asked to remain anonymous because they’re not authorized to speak to the press.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai added that it was important staff remained as productive on days they work from home in order for the company to keep its policy flexible.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the comments made by Pichai and Casey, but did not add further comment.

‘Google chases the industry’

Despite leadership’s comments, some employees still fear they will eventually be called back to the office full time. During the most recent all-hands, Pichai noted that some employees, such as some of Google’s hardware teams, are back four days a week.

Google is a famously data-driven company, and any hints of a drop in productivity could be a reason to bring workers back in person.

Yet some research suggests hybrid is best. A study published in Nature in June concluded that hybrid work boosted job satisfaction and retention without jeapordizing productivity.

Still, some companies have already started following Amazon’s lead. Dell just ordered its sales teams back into the office five days a week, telling employees in a memo that it believes its staff are “more productive” when onsite. Microsoft recently told staff it would remain hybrid but, like Google, would reconsider if productivity drops.

“People are concerned because Google chases the industry,” said one Google employee, who said they felt the company’s leaders are “great at changing their minds.” Another said that the comments in the recent all-hands, while somewhat reassuring, didn’t preclude a change in policy down the road.

Google has in recent months become stricter on sending nudges to employees who aren’t hitting the three-day average, according to an employee with direct knowledge of the changes.

The company has moved to hot-desking in some offices, and some locations have been piloting a new type of hot-desking workspace — which it calls “neighborhoods” — with moveable desks and modular meeting rooms.

Shortly after Amazon announced its RTO mandate, one employee shared a meme on Google’s internal meme generator. It edited a scene from The Simpsons, with character Kirk Van Houten asking, “So you want me to sit at my desk five days a week?” and his boss responding, “I don’t recall saying you would get a desk.”

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