Google says it will let workers expense $1,000 worth of office furniture

Google employees who don’t want to return to the office this summer can start shopping for a nice home office.

The search giant said Tuesday that it will begin letting employees come back to the office beginning July 6, and will gradually ramp up its in-person attendance throughout late summer and early fall. Employees who choose to stay home, the company said, will be allowed to expense up to $1,000 for home office needs like standing desks and ergonomic chairs.

Google expects 10 percent of employees to return to the office following the July 4 holiday, CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in a memo, and aims to have 30 percent of its workforce return from remote work by September.

In an interview published in Wired magazine last week, Pichai said he doesn’t expect Google to abandon its physical office spaces, which have become famous for the perks they provide employees such as free dry cleaning, meals and workout classes.

“In all scenarios I expect us to need physical spaces to get people together, absolutely. We have a lot of growth planned ahead,” Pichai said. “So even if there is some course correction, I don’t think our existing footprint is going to be the issue.”

Google’s announcement comes days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said half of the social networking giant’s employees could be working remotely within the next five to 10 years, and that Facebook will begin allowing certain employees to work from home on a full-time basis.