Google To Track Employee Badges For Attendance In Return-To-Office Crackdown

In a bid to encourage in-person collaboration following the pandemic, the tech giant plans to take a stricter approach towards employees who do not adhere to the three-days-a-week office policy

Google is tightening its stance on the return-to-office requirement, informing employees that their performance reviews will now include tracking their attendance through badges and noting their presence. In a bid to encourage in-person collaboration following the pandemic, the tech giant plans to take a stricter approach towards employees who do not adhere to the three-days-a-week office policy, reported CNBC. Initially adopting a remote work model during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Google later revised its policy, urging employees to work from the office for a minimum of three days each week.

Google was one of several companies that adopted a remote work model during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In a recent update to its hybrid work policy, Google has implemented stricter measures to address employees who are not adhering to the in-office attendance requirement, the report said. Adding that the company will now utilise badge tracking to monitor the frequency of employees' physical presence at the office. Additionally, in-person attendance will be considered as a contributing factor in performance reviews.

Employees who had earlier received the all-clear to work fully remotely may also have their status reevaluated, according to the report.

“There's just no substitute for coming together in person,” chief people officer Fiona Cicconi wrote while announcing the updated policy.

Google employees are expressing their discontent with the company's reversal of remote work through posts on an internal platform called Memegen. The messages posted on Memegen highlight their dissatisfaction with the recently implemented attendance regulations and signal their discontent with the new rules.

“If you cannot attend the office today, your parents should submit an absence request,” reads one popular meme posted by an employee, the report noted. The meme shows a picture of Fiona Cicconi in front of a chalkboard. Another employee exhorted the company to “check my work, not my badge.”

The concern is also high among staffers who changed cities or moved states after they were told they could work remotely.

According to a spokesperson from Google, as per the CNBC report, the badge data collected is "aggregated" and primarily used by company leaders, as Google has fully transitioned to a hybrid work week.

“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 spokesperson said.