Meta Platforms mentioned on Tuesday it’s going to absolutely reopen its US places of work on January 31 subsequent yr whereas giving its staff a possibility to delay their scheduled return by three to 5 months.

The social media big’s new “office deferral programme” will make sure that its staff have flexibility in returning again to places of work, Meta mentioned.

Meta, previously often called Facebook, mentioned it’s going to additionally follow its earlier plans that staff who can work remotely can request for full-time distant work.

“We recognise that some employees aren’t quite ready to come back. We continue to offer a variety of options to choose what works best for them, so our employees can make informed decisions about where they work,” mentioned Janelle Gale, vice chairman, human sources of the corporate.

Meta’s determination comes at a time when many corporations within the United States are pushing again their workplace return date as a result of considerations over the speedy unfold of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Alphabet’s Google final week indefinitely delayed its January return-to-office plan globally amid rising considerations over the Omicron variant and a few resistance to company-mandated vaccinations.

In its assertion, Meta mentioned it was “closely monitoring” the scenario across the Omicron variant. The firm at the moment requires all its US staff coming to workplace to be vaccinated towards the coronavirus.

© Thomson Reuters 2021