Employee-led returns to the office, Apple’s message to employees about Ukraine and more

Hello there, comms pros.

Let’s explore some notable stories from Feb. 28-March 4, 2022—and extract a few useful messaging takeaways along the way:

1. Employee-led return-to-office plans gain momentum.

Tech giant Google announced this week it will expect its employees to return to in-person work next month. Starting April 4, workers will be expected to report to the office at least three days a week.

CNBC reports that John Casey, Google’s VP of global benefits, penned an email to employees explaining the company’s rationale in returning to physical offices.

“It’s been a long and challenging two years since the vast majority of our people started working from home,” Casey wrote. “But the advances in prevention and treatment, the steady decline in cases that we continue to see, and the improved safety measures we have implemented across our Bay Area sites now mean we can officially begin the transition to the hybrid work week.”

Yet, Google also seems to have been flexible with allowing employees to transition to fully remote positions.

From CNBC: