Facebook announced Thursday that its workers in U.S. offices, and some international workers, don't have to return to their desks in person until January 2022.
Facebook is just the latest big company to delay its return to office work due to the Delta variant surge, and ongoing concerns about infections among the vaccinated. Originally planned for October, Facebook's official end of the work-from-home era has now been pushed three more months out, to early next year, as CNBC reports.
"Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office," the company said in a statement. "Given the recent health data showing rising Covid cases based on the Delta variant, our teams in the U.S. will not be required to go back to the office until January 2022. We expect this to be the case for some countries outside of the US, as well. We continue to monitor the situation and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone's safety."
Both Facebook and Google/Alphabet announced in late July that they would be requiring vaccinations for all their workers returning to the office. And while some Google employees returned to their Bay Area offices in mid-July, the company put off its back-to-the-office date from September 1 to October 18.
Apple postponed its return to the office from September to October as well, and Apple Insider reported that the delay was until "at least October," and could be extended further. Some employees at Apple have been especially vocal in pushing back on the mandatory return, even though the company said that its policy would be to only require in-office work three days a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
As CNBC reported, Lyft isn't asking its workers to come back to the office until February. And Amazon announced last week that its employees don't need to return until January.
Photo: Brett Jordan