COVID-19 precautions are disappearing from tech offices

Is the pandemic “over” in your office?

President Biden declared the pandemic “over” in “60 Minutes” on Sunday. we still have a lot of work to do. But the pandemic is over. Whether or not the statements downplay the seriousness of the still-dangerous virus, they captured the approach of pre-pandemic normality in American society.

It turns out that this also includes a technical office. Many tech employers have eased their own COVID restrictions, such as rescinding mandatory vaccinations and eliminating daily symptom questionnaires.

• “Technology companies and leaders are now acting like this is a problem they can deal with,” said Joe Du Bey, co-founder and CEO of workplace experience and human resources software maker Eden. . “They are returning to our offices and corporate events in meaningful ways.”
• Du Bey said this summer seemed like a “tipping point” for removing this kind of COVID precaution.
• A few months ago, Eden had seen “much higher engagement” with its vaccine-tracking tool, and Du Bey was hearing more of his startup customers talking about the need for a vaccine.

We see a similar trend with Officely, a desk booking tool within Slack. According to Officely co-founder and CEO Max Shepherd-Cross, about half the symptom questionnaires some employers ask workers heading to the office have returned in August compared to March. .

• According to Shepard Cross, Officely users did 70% less contact tracing in August than in March.
• “I think this means that the actual number of positive cases in the office has dropped significantly,” Shepherd Cross told me in a DM. “But people are still worried about it. As a result, the decline in companies requiring health surveys is small.”

AlertMedia, a maker of emergency communications software, is also not widely used for contact tracing. CEO Christopher Kennessy said customers who originally purchased the product for COVID tracking are now using it for other emergency communications.

At AlertMedia’s own offices in Austin, things look pretty normal these days. No more coming to the office for vaccinations or daily health checks.

• Kennessy said AlertMedia withdrew those policies after other Austin-area businesses relaxed requirements such as masks and vaccine cards.
• Once employees had the opportunity to be vaccinated, Kennessy said the vaccination mandate was no longer necessary.

Offices are getting busier, albeit slowly. Desk booking software maker Robin found that employees booked 22% of available desks in North America last week. This is a new record since the pandemic began. (However, some companies are reducing office space, so high occupancy does not necessarily mean high office attendance.)

• Different cities see different return rates. According to The Wall Street Journal, the New York office saw significantly more attendance this month than its San Francisco office.
• Returning to the office may not have much to do with alleviating fears of getting sick. was not at the top of

But when workers come together in person, cases of COVID continue. CNBC reported last month that Google employees have been notified of co-workers’ infections.

• After returning from a trade fair last week, several Alert Media employees contracted the virus.
• “We’re not ready to declare victory and say we’re done with AlertMedia,” said Kennessy. “But we now feel that we have come to a point where we have to live with it, work with it, be considerate and respectful of others, and do it the right way.”

Read the full protocol.

eco recruit

A company’s environmental impact is more important to tech workers than telework policies, according to a new report from Morning Consult. According to Protocol’s Lisa Martine Jenkins, about 43% of tech workers consider the impact of businesses on the climate to be “very important,” compared to 30% of the general population.

Wages, benefits and work-life balance ranked top for both technology workers and all US adults. However, unlike technology workers, US adults generally rated remote work policies more highly than the company’s environmental impact.

Read full text.

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in numbers

The race for talent is still on, and recruiters are racing to catch up. Nearly half of recruiters said the time to hire was shorter in June than in 2021, according to a new report from Hiring. Here’s what recruiters are moving faster:

• 63% say they spend less time interviewing with their team or recruiters.
• 62% saved time on screening interviews.
• 39% spent less time on procurement.

And 85% of recruiters said it took them less than four weeks to close a candidate.

some HR news

Anyone else have a bad case of big resignation whiplash? It’s hard to keep up with which tech companies grow, shrink, and have their ups and downs. we are here to help.

⬆️ American Express employs 1,500 tech professionals primarily in the US (Bloomberg)

⬇️ Meta and Google have cut headcount and affected employees have been given 30 to 60 days to apply for another job within the company. (Wall Street Journal)

⬇️ Real estate firm Compass is laying off tech workers as the housing market slows. (SF Gate)

For news on hiring, laying off, and rewiring, visit our tech company tracker.

around the internet

A roundup of workplace news from the farthest reaches of the internet.

Amazon and Uber are among the companies promising to hire more refugees. (Wall Street Journal)

Harvard Business Review examines how black women are getting gaslighted over the pay gap.

ICYMI: Startup recruiters are no longer looking for Googlers. (information)

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USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin for institutional investors. Our monthly certifications show exactly what we have in store for USDC, with businesses around the world using it to build the next generation of financial services and global payments applications.

See why institutions trust USDC with Circle’s Transparency and Stability Hub