COVID-19: Google extends work-from-home for employees till July 2021; major firms likely to follow suit

Amid the surge in coronavirus cases, Google has announced that its employees will not be returning to the office until July 2021, Earlier, Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc, had said that Google's workforce could work from their homes until the end of the year.

However, according to US media reports, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has now made the decision to extend the work-from-home facility after deliberations with senior executives at the firm.

In an email to employees, Pichai wrote, "To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we'll be extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021, for roles that don't need to be in the office. I hope this will offer the flexibility you need to balance work with taking care of yourselves and your loved ones over the next 12 months."

The Wall Street Journal had first reported that Google's decision has pushed Alphabet, its parent company, to delay the comeback of its employees into the second half of next year.

The decision was reportedly influenced by different approaches to schools reopening across the country.

Google Chief Executive Sunad Pichai announced a new timetable in a companywide email to "give employees the ability to plan ahead," according to The Washington Post.

Similarly, Facebook has planned to keep its 48,000 employees at home till the end of the year though CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said in May that he expects half of the employees to permanently transit to remote work in the next decade.

While Snap has extended its work from home timeline from September to January, Amazon's corporate employees might go on working from home throughout 2020.

The decision shows that though US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the re-opening of the economy, the corporate sector is making its own rules with regard to following norms aimed at preventing further spread of coronavirus cases.

As businesses and political leaders are eagerly waiting for a vaccine, it is highly likely that most firms would soon follow the footsteps of Google and make such decisions in the days to come.

Meanwhile, the government has invested billions of dollars in companies racing against each other to develop a vaccine.

The Washington Post reported that Monday was a milestone as large-scale clinical trials launching to gauge the effectiveness and safety of biotech firm Moderna's vaccine candidate but inoculations are months away even with the accelerated timeline.

However, public health experts believe that the broadly accessible vaccinations will not be available until December or even till spring 2021.

(With agency inputs)