'check my work, not my badge'
Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Google I/O keynote session at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on May 7, 2019.
Google's mixed messaging when it comes to its return-to-office plans has been a subject of consternation across the company since the waning days of the pandemic. Now employees are finding further sources of frustration.
Last week Google updated its hybrid three-day-a-week office policy to include badge tracking, and noted that attendance will be included in performance reviews. Additionally, employees who already received approval for remote work may now have that status reevaluated.
Based on CNBC's discussions with some employees and posts to an internal site called Memegen, Google faces growing concern among staffers that management is overreaching in its oversight of physical attendance and that they're being treated like schoolchildren. There's also increased uncertainty about what the future holds for people who moved to different cities and states after they were cleared to work from remote locations.
"If you cannot attend the office today, your parents should submit an absence request," reads one top-rated meme posted by an employee and viewed by CNBC. Attached was a photoshopped image of human resources head Fiona Cicconi in front of a school chalkboard.
Another highly-rated meme said "check my work, not my badge."
Ryan Lamont, a Google spokesperson, said in an email that the badge data collected is "aggregated" for company leaders.
"Now that we've fully transitioned to the hybrid work week, company leaders can see reports showing how their teams are adopting the hybrid work model," the statement said, adding that Google doesn't "share individual Googler badge data" in its reports.
An internal document indicates how group leaders will learn who hasn't been in the office frequently enough.
"Managers of non-remote Googlers who have been consistently absent from the office will be cc'ed on emails to these Googlers (subject to local requirements), so they can support Googlers in either ramping back to the office or exploring other flexibility options," the document says.
On Friday, YouTube held its own all-hands meeting with employees about the office policy update. At the event, executives presented the plans virtually, a paradox that didn't go unnoticed.
Afterwards, a popular meme showed an image of "The Big Bang Theory" TV show character Leonard Hofstadter, saying "What are you looking at? You've never seen a hypocrite before?"
Discontent surrounding the RTO policies represents the latest challenge for Google as the company tries to get people back into its many expansive offices and campuses across the country. Prior to the pandemic, Google was known for its vibrant campus life, replete with massage parlors, yoga classes, video games and free gourmet meals.
But life changed, as did priorities, during the pandemic, when offices were closed and employees were forced to work from home. Staffers moved to different cities and got used to more flexibility and family time while taking advantage of Google's flexible remote work options.
Source: CNBC
