'In-person collaboration is an important part of how we innovate and solve complex problems,' says spokesperson
Human resources employees who are working remotely for Google have been told to return onsite or risk losing their jobs, according to reports.
The tech giant has required remote employees under its People Operations department who live within 50 miles of an office to be on a hybrid work arrangement by mid-April or their role will be terminated, NBC News reported.
Those who live outside of that 50 miles can keep their current arrangements, according to the report. However, they need to go hybrid if they want to pursue new roles.
People Operations employees aren't the only staff who received an ultimatum from Google, as its remote Technical Services staff were also given a similar memo.
NBC, citing internal documents, reported that Google Technical Services staff were told that they need to switch to a hybrid office schedule or take a voluntary exit package.
Employees under that unit may also be eligible for a one-time paid relocation expense from Google so they can move within 50 miles of an office.
Courtenay Mencini, a Google spokesperson, told NBC that employees who live near an office are told to return on-site three days a week. She clarified that the instruction is not company-wide, but is limited to individual teams.
"As we've said before, in-person collaboration is an important part of how we innovate and solve complex problems," Mencini told NBC in a statement. "To support this, some teams have asked remote employees that live near an office to return to in-person work three days a week."
The three-day hybrid work policy is the current office mandate in the tech giant, according to previous reports.
John Casey, Google's vice president of global compensation and benefits, told staff last year that they do not have immediate plans to order a full on-site return.
Sergey Brin, Google co-founder, however, recommended earlier this year that employees should be in the office "at least every weekday."
Brin even noted that "60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity," as he called out employees who have been putting in the bare minimum.
"A number of folks work less than 60 hours and a small number put in the bare minimum to get by," he said as quoted by The New York Times. "This last group is not only unproductive but also can be highly demoralising to everyone else."
