Lyft mentioned Thursday that its employees can work remotely for all of 2022, as a quantity of main employers delay their plans for employees to return to the workplace amid a spike in COVID-19 circumstances across the U.S. The rideshare firm had beforehand deliberate on summoning staff again by February.
With Omicron variant starting to unfold across the nation, firms together with Fb, Ford Motor Co. and Google even have pushed again their workplace return dates. In saying its plans, nevertheless, Lyft mentioned the change largely displays staff’ need for flexibility fairly than virus fears.
“We’ve heard from our team members that they value continued flexibility in determining where they work and would benefit from additional time to plan. We want to give people a choice for all of next year,” a Lyft spokesperson mentioned in an announcement. “Offices will fully reopen as planned in February, but working from the office will be completely optional for all of 2022.”
The spokesperson added that Lyft will not be going absolutely distant for the long-term, however that it will proceed to prioritize employees’ work preferences.
Meta Platforms, previously often called Fb, earlier this week introduced adjustments to the corporate’s return plans. Employees, who had beforehand been set to return again to the workplace early subsequent 12 months, might now proceed to work from house till the pandemic eases.
Below the association, Meta employees who’re able to return to workplaces might achieve this on January 31, whereas those that aren’t might proceed working from house for an extra three to 5 months, a Meta spokesperson advised CBS MoneyWatch.
“For those wishing to return in January, we look forward to providing a vibrant office experience that continues to prioritize health and safety. We also recognize that some aren’t quite ready to come back,” mentioned Janelle Gale, Meta’s vice chairman of human sources.
Gale mentioned Meta is permitting U.S. and Canada-based employees who’re hesitant to return to decide on the place they work, a minimum of on a short lived foundation. Meta employs roughly 50,000 individuals worldwide.
Since Might 2020, Meta employees, together with those that work for Menlo Park, California-based Fb, have had the choice to request full-time distant work. The corporate has additionally mentioned it will regulate salaries for full-time distant staff who relocate to decrease price areas.
The expertise large’s softened stance on bringing staff again to the workplaces in January comes as public well being officers specific concern over Omicron variant, which research present can evade vaccines.
“Right now there is unpredictability with returning to the office because there are key features of this variant that we don’t have information on,” mentioned Keri Althoff, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg College of Well being. “Once we have that information we can adapt to it and have a better plan for the return to office. I don’t think this is a situation where we feel like we’re never going to have a return to office date.”
