Facebook and Google will let most employees work from home through 2020

Facebook and Google told employees on Thursday that they would allow most of their employees to work from home by the end of this year.

Facebook said it did not plan to reopen most of its offices before July 6, at the earliest. The company will consider several factors, such as “public health data, government guidelines, and local nuances,” when it decides to reopen its offices, a spokeswoman said.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, told employees at an all-hands meeting on Thursday that they are expected to work remotely for the rest of 2020, the company confirmed. The information earlier reported the news.

As with most companies, Facebook and Google employees worked from home to slow down the spread the novel corona virus. The announcements from two of the largest companies in Silicon Valley provide insight into how the rest of the technology industry might plan to reopen in the coming months.

In April, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg Social network workers would likely be among the last to return to the office when society reopened and found that the return to work should be “staggered”. At the time, he said that most employees would work from home by the end of May. Employees who couldn’t work remotely, such as content checkers working on counter-terrorism or suicide and self-harm prevention, as well as certain engineers, might be able to return to the office earlier, he said at the time.

Google had made similar plans for its employees and previously told them that they would be working from home at least until June 1st. The company also said that any return to the office would be staggered. Pichai said Thursday that employees who need to work from offices can do so from June or July, according to The Information, and that the company will take security measures to protect those employees on campus.

The announcements of the two companies affect several thousand workers around the world. Facebook currently has more than 48,000 full-time employees, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has more than 120,000.

Facebook has not determined which employees can return to their offices after reopening. CNBC reported earlier. A Facebook spokeswoman said that employees who can do their work remotely can do so by the end of 2020.

On Thursday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said in a comment in Fortune that the coronavirus pandemic has created a “double layer” for female employees who need to Childcare and sick or elderly relatives. She urged employers to reduce some of this stress by offering more flexibility in the workplace. Facebook suspended performance reviews and created expanded childcare services, leaving options for caregivers, she said.

Managers should also offer emotional support to their employees, Sandberg said. She urged the men to do housework, paid vacation, a higher minimum wage and affordable childcare.

“To get through this crisis, you have to help women overcome it,” said Sandberg. “We all – employers, managers, elected officials and spouses – need to help ease their burdens.”