Google demands staff share desks…
In a bid to improve its “real estate efficiency” – in other words, to spend less on office space – Google has announced it wants employees to share desks. In fact, it’s asking Googlers to buddy-up with someone else, and alternate the days they come into the office, to effectively ensure one desk accommodates two people. Desk rotating will reportedly start next quarter, and it will apply to Google Cloud’s five largest US locations — Kirkland, Washington; New York City; San Francisco; Seattle; and Sunnyvale, California. The official reason is that it will enable the search engine giant to “continue to invest in Cloud’s growth,” but it now means some buildings will now be vacated in their entirety. An internal document says: “Through the matching process, they [buddies] will agree on a basic desk setup and establish norms with their desk partner and teams to ensure a positive experience in the new shared environment.” If anyone comes to work on a day their desk is being used by their buddy, Google says they will have to go to an “overflow drop-in space.” The move comes as Google has slowed hiring and after it laid of 11,000 staff last month.