In order to increase "real estate efficiency," Google is requesting its employees to share desks and switch days with one another from the next quarter, as per a report in Fortune. This will enable the staff to have a "partner", a move which is seen to maximise space at some of the largest Google offices.
The new desk-sharing model will apply to some of Google Cloud's largest locations in the United States - Kirkland, Washington, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Sunnyvale, California. The outlet further said that some buildings of the tech giant will also be vacated. This comes as the company reduces its real estate footprint as part of a broader cost-cutting measure.
In order to share one desk among several employees, Google has encouraged staff to rotate their work days, such as Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. On days without an allocated desk, employees are allowed to visit the office, but they must sit in an "overflow drop-in space", the Fortune report further stated.
As per the internal document accessed by CNBC, "Through the matching process, they will agree on a basic desk setup and establish norms with their desk partner and teams to ensure a positive experience in the new shared environment."
Also Read: 7 People Fired By Google Come Together To Form New Company
Internally, the new seating arrangement has been dubbed "Cloud Office Evolution," or "CLOE," and is described as "combining the best of pre-pandemic collaboration with the flexibility" of hybrid work. The company added that the arrangement is permanent, citing the staff's return to office patterns after Covid-19.
A Google spokesperson told CNBC, "Since returning to the office, we've run pilots and conducted surveys with Cloud employees to explore different hybrid work models and help shape the best experience. Our data show Cloud Googlers value guaranteed in-person collaboration when they are in the office, as well as the option to work from home a few days each week."
The spokesperson further said, "With this feedback, we've developed our new rotational model, combining the best of pre-pandemic collaboration with the flexibility and focus we've all come to appreciate from remote work, while also allowing us to use our spaces more efficiently."
The document further mentions that "neighbourhoods" will be made up of 200 to 300 employees and "partners" from a variety of functions to ensure that desk sharing runs smoothly. It noted that each "neighbourhood" will have a Vice President or Director who will be in-charge of dividing and allocating the space. The company is also planning to bring a booking cap for conference rooms to ensure that people are sitting at their desk and not "camping out".
