The hardest question to answer for American corporations: when should offices be reopened?
From Silicon Valley to Tennessee to Pennsylvania, hopes have been shattered that the rapid launch of the vaccine in early 2021 will send millions of workers back to the offices by spring. Many companies push the return data to work in September – and beyond – or refuse to commit to specific dates, telling employees it will be a year of waiting and remote work.
The delays extend to industries. Qurate Retail Inc., the parent company of brands such as Ballard Designs, QVC and HSN, recently moved its return plan for offices in Philadelphia, Atlanta and other cities to September at the earliest. TechnologyAdvice, a Nashville marketing firm, initially told employees to plan for Feb. 1 as a return date. The company then pushed the date back to August. Now, TA has decided to start a hybrid office program in the fall of 2021, allowing workers to choose whether to work remotely or enter, the company says.
Return dates to the office have changed so much in the last year that some companies do not share them with employees. Shipping giant United Parcel Service Inc., based in Atlanta, and financial services firm Fidelity Investments Inc., based in Boston, did not announce the return dates, telling home workers that companies are monitoring the pandemic. coronavirus and will call back workers when it is safe.
Nearly a year of impromptu work at home has affected employees, leaders say. While many companies say productivity is rising, executives fear that creativity is suffering and say depletion is rising. Even so, bosses are struggling to tell when things will change.