Microsoft Drops Back to Office Plans Amid Spread of COVID-19 Delta Variant

Executives at Microsoft and its subsidiary LinkedIn have decided to abandon plans to return American employees to the office next month, postponing such a return indefinitely, saying the persistence of COVID-19 left them no choice.

“The evolution of the Delta variant is forcing many of us to adjust plans to reopen work sites,” Microsoft vice president for Modern Work Jared Spataro said in a blog post Thursday. He added: “It’s a stark reminder that this is the new normal.”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (AP Photo / Richard Drew) (AP press room)

DELTA OFFICE DELAY CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

Spataro went on to say that the return to the workplace scheduled for Oct. 4 was off for the tech giant, and “given the uncertainty of COVID-19, we have decided not to attempt to schedule a new date for a complete reopening of our United States sites in favor of the opening of sites in the United States as soon as we can do it in complete safety on the basis of public health directives. “

“From there,” he continued, “we will communicate a 30-day transition period that will allow time for employees to prepare while allowing us to continue to be nimble and flexible as we review the data. and make choices to protect employee health, safety and well-being. “

Microsoft had originally scheduled its return to the workplace for early September, but pushed the date back this summer with other companies such as McDonald’s and Apple, both of which made tentative return plans for October but left the door. open to further delays if necessary. Amazon has previously said its employees will not be invited to return to the office at any time this year, with Facebook and Google following suit.

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Meanwhile, many employees have now long been accustomed to working from home, and getting workers back to the office has become a challenge for companies, especially against a backdrop of widespread labor shortages across industries and sectors. country.

Spataro also addressed this issue in his blog post, saying that a LinkedIn survey of executives in the US and UK found that “with 87% of people saying they would prefer to stay away at least the half the time, a majority of employers adapt: ​​81% of managers change their workplace policies to provide greater flexibility. ”