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Rabat – Most Google and Facebook employees will be allowed to keep working from home until the end of the year, following the two companies’ decisions to gradually reopen their offices for some workers this summer
Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, told his staff that the company’s remote work policy is likely to extend until 2021, depending on the spread of the virus.
The CEO had previously said that employees would continue to work remotely until June 1.
Employees whose work requires a physical presence in the office will be able to reenter the workplace in June or July, according to Pichai.
Google’s announcement follows several news reports on Facebook’s plans to extend its staff’s remote work.
Facebook will allow most of its employees to continue working from home through the end of 2020, and the company does not expect to reopen most offices before July 6, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to the Verge.
The social media giant said the decision was based on public health information from institutions such as the CDC and Johns Hopkins University, as well as on governmental guidance.
Facebook employees have been working from home since March. Hourly employees who may not be able to work because of reduced staffing will continue to be paid, the social media giant said in a statement to Techcrunch.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last month that Facebook will not organize any gatherings of more than fifty people before July 2021.
As part of its collaboration with worldwide efforts to succeed at the #Stay_home campaign, Facebook has launched a new video calling feature, “Messenger Rooms,” which allows up to 50 people to join a group video chat. The new facility will be available on Messenger, Whatsapp, and the Facebook app.
The early release of Messenger Rooms aims to promote the campaign for people to stay home amid coronavirus lockdowns. Facebook told the BBC it released the feature earlier than it had planned due to the pandemic’s movement restrictions.
