Christina Correira, the chief human resources officer at Bloomberg Industry Group, sent out the following to the staff:
Over the past few weeks, we’ve received a wave of good news from the CDC and local authorities. More and more Americans are vaccinated every day, and as a result, case counts are dropping dramatically and restrictions on activity are being lifted. We’re particularly happy that nearly all of you have been vaccinated and are now protected.
With these trends firmly taking hold, we think the time is right to take the next step in our return to the office. While we’ve performed incredibly well over the past 14 months, largely working apart from one another, we’re committed to the benefits of in-person interaction in our culture, in our work, and in serving our customers. Our offices enable the collaboration, creativity, and innovation that has made us successful. So, it’s important that we begin to get back to the office in earnest.
We understand that this represents a change – much as the sudden departure from the office and working from home was a change. That’s why we’ve been approaching this gradually. Our offices have been open since October, welcoming more of you each week, and we’ll be building on what we’ve learned in that time in the months ahead.
As you know, many managers have returned to the office during the last month, and all managers will be in the office regularly starting in June. Supporting our return is the fact that all capacity and social distancing restrictions will be lifted in Virginia and Washington, DC by June 1. As a result, conference rooms and common areas will begin to reopen, and colleagues can start to collaborate more in person, making now a great time to come back to the office. We look forward to seeing more of you here each week.
By July 26, we want all employees to return to the office two to three days a week. Each department will have a slightly different approach during this transition, so keep an eye out for specific updates from your business leaders. We will, of course, work with colleagues who have health and family-related issues. Please contact your manager or Human Resources to discuss your specific situations.
As we move through the upcoming months, we will continue monitoring any changes to public health guidance and school reopening plans and will adjust accordingly. For example, if a school system does not reopen in the fall as planned, rest assured that we’ll continue to work with parents and caregivers on the flexibility they need.
We also recognize that the summer is a time when many of you take vacation – and of course – you should continue with your vacation plans if you have them and make them if you haven’t yet done so. We’re excited to welcome more of you back in the weeks ahead.
We’ve posted an updated set of FAQs on our BHome RTO hub that answer a number of the questions we have been getting from employees. If you have additional questions, please contact your manager or HR Business Partner.