Meta Offers Deferral Programme for Employees Unready to Return to Office in January 2022

Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it will fully reopen its US offices on January 31 next year while giving its employees an opportunity to delay their scheduled return by three to five months.

The social media giant's new "office deferral programme" will ensure that its employees have flexibility in returning back to offices, Meta said.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, said it will also stick to its earlier plans that employees who can work remotely can request for full-time remote 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," said Janelle Gale, vice president, human resources of the company.

Meta's decision comes at a time when many companies in the United States are pushing back their office return date due to concerns over the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Alphabet's Google last week indefinitely delayed its January return-to-office plan globally amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant and some resistance to company-mandated vaccinations.

In its statement, Meta said it was "closely monitoring" the situation around the Omicron variant. The company currently requires all its US employees coming to office to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

© Thomson Reuters 2021