Google's Myth of Losing Social Capital in Hybrid WorkGoogle's leaders claim in-person work is critical to preserving employee connection, but forward-thinking companies know hybrid and fully-remote work arrangements don't automatically lead to losing social capital.
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Googlerecently announcedits new post-pandemic hybrid work policy, requiring employees work in the office for at least three days a week. That policy goes against the desires of many rank-and-file Google employees. Asurveyof over 1,000 Google employees showed that two-thirds feel unhappy with being forced to be in the office three days a week, with manythreatening to leavein internal meetings and public letters, and somealready quittingto go to other companies with more flexible options.
Yet Google's leadership isdefending its requirementof mostly in-office work as necessary to protect the company's social capital, meaning people's connections to and trust in each other. In fact,according tothe former head of HR at Google Laszlo Brock, three days a week is just a transition period. Google's leadership intends to enforce full-time in-office work in the next couple of years. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidtsupports this notion, saying that it's "important that these people be at the office" to get the benefit of on-the-job training for junior team members.
