How Major Companies are Returning to the Office (or Not) and Resources

Decisions regarding returning to the office and work models present a new set of challenges for leaders, and the emergence of the COVID-19 Delta variant has further complicated things. Many are grappling with balancing the desire to have employees interacting in-person and onsite with the preferences and expectations of those employees who want continuing flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid work models, as well as renewed concern about everyone's health and safety. 

Return to the office decisions and policies that have been made public so far have differed from one company to another as have the varying reactions on the part of workers. The following stories, examples, and considerations related to return to the office strategies and policies are being curated by i4cp's research team to assist leaders in their planning for 2021 and beyond (we'll add more over time): 

Global stats: 

• Global Workplace Analytics: Latest Work-At-Home/Telecommuting/Mobile Work/Remote Work Statistics

Return to Office & Flexible Work Decisions:

• New Model Allows 3M Employees to Choose How and Where They Work 
• Google May Cut Pay of Staff Who Work from Home
• Stanley Black & Decker pivots to ‘hybrid’ workplace as COVID-19 pandemic reshapes the office of the future
• Target tells HQ employees they can work from home for rest of year
• LinkedIn Says Most Of Its Employees Could Permanently Start Working Remotely
• Deloitte U.S. CEO says hybrid model should ‘bring best of both worlds’ to meet employees halfway
• Amazon delays office return until January as COVID-19 cases surge
• Lyft pushes office return date to February as Twitter closes offices it had reopened
• Dell pushes back opening its U.S. offices due to coronavirus surge
• Royal Bank of Canada Says Hybrid Work ‘Here to Stay’ as It Eyes Office Return
• TikTok tells employees to return to office for three days a week
• Raymond James plots fall return to in-person work, with ‘more flexibility’
• HSBC: French staff have option to work remotely half the time
• BNP Paribus: Some bankers to remote work two days one week, three days the next week
• Deutsche Bank: Employees to work from home up to three days a week
• ‘The pandemic has proven it’s doable’: Inside Pepsico’s flexible-working model 
• UBS to let most workers adopt permanent hybrid arrangements 
• Uber to let office staff work up to half their time from anywhere
• Deloitte tells its 20,000 UK Employees They Can Work From Home Forever
• Aflac announces plan to phase employees back into office
• AmEx Goes Hybrid With Most Workers at Home Mondays and Fridays
• Facebook Lets More Employees Choose Full-Time Remote Work or Return to the Office 
• IBM Tells U.S. Employees to Return to Office in September
• Apple employees pushing back on CEO Tim Cook's order to return to the office
• Amazon adjusts return-to-office guidance, says employees can work two days a week remotely
• Salesforce expects at least half of employees to continue working remotely
• Goldman Sachs employees in U.S., UK to return to office
• Citi CEO: The Future of Work at Citi
• Google CEO: A hybrid approach to work
• Qualcomm CEO: We will have a flexible return to office policy for workers
• Ford to allow 30,000 employees remain remote post-pandemic
• How Zillow's Flexible Work Policy Won Over Employees
• MIT Management: A 4-step framework for returning to the office
• There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Business Approach To The New World Of Work
• The Federal News Network covers governmental agency RTO policies

Employee Vaccination & Mask Policies:

• Banner Health becomes first private employer in Arizona to mandate COVID-19 vaccine
• The Walt Disney Company requires all employees to be fully vaccinated
• Walmart mandates masks again for workers in COVID-19 hotspots
• Google and Facebook lead the way with Covid-19 vaccine mandates
• California, NYC to workers: Get vaccine or face weekly tests
• Goldman Sachs Requires All Employees to Report Vaccination Status
• Amtrak Becomes Latest Travel Company to Mandate Vaccines for Employees
• Kraft Heinz to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for office employees
• Uber and Lyft employees who want to return to the office need to have their shots. Drivers do not.
• Microsoft reverses course, will require vaccines for employees who want to return to the office
• UPS mandates COVID-19 vaccination for employees in some U.S. locations
• Netflix Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Employees, Visitors
• Citigroup is mandating employees be vaccinated before returning to its corporate offices
• Capital One will require full vaccination upon reopening
• AT&T to require management employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19
• Delta Air Lines to require that employees be vaccinated or pay health insurance surcharge
• Eli Lilly to require COVID-19 vaccine for all US employees
• Frontier Airlines Announces Employee Vaccine Policy Effective Oct. 1
• TD Bank gives employees a choice: Get vaccinated or submit to mask-wearing, testing
• Coca-Cola employees will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated before being allowed back in its offices
• Genentech requiring Covid vaccination for workforce
• Morgan Stanley mandates employees prove they received COVID vaccine
• Tyson Foods to Require COVID-19 Vaccinations for its U.S. Workforce
• Walgreens to Require COVID-19 Vaccination for Support Office Team Members
• Cigna announces COVID-19 vaccine requirements for employees

Need help developing your return to office strategy?

Download i4cp's Return to the Workplace Checklist (updated Q1 2021) for key things to consider, and attend our From Cube to Cloud Research Reveal webinar on June 23 to hear i4cp's recommendations on flexible work and other work model ideas.