Microsoft Corp. employees will start returning to the office starting later this month, after nearly two years of COVID-19 disruptions.
In a blog post Monday, Chris Capossela, Microsoft’s MSFT, -0.01% executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said employees in Washington state, where the software giant is headquartered, will start a hybrid workplace model starting Feb. 28. Employees will have 30 days to adjust their schedules.
“Reaching this stage allows us to fully open our facilities to employees, visitors and guests. All campus services will return,” he wrote. “Our approach to hybrid embraces schedule flexibility as standard for most roles and provides employees with the opportunity to determine how and where they work best.”
Capossela attributed the move to improving health conditions as the omicron surge recedes. “High vaccination rates, along with declining hospitalizations and deaths in the state, are part of what enables us to move to this stage of our hybrid work journey,” he said.
Microsoft’s San Francisco Bay Area offices will also fully open Feb. 28, and its other offices around the U.S. are expected to do the same “as conditions allow.”
The rapid spread of the omicron variant late last year further delayed return-to-the-office plans for a number of major tech companies, including Apple AAPL, +0.14%, Alphabet’s GOOGL, +0.93% GOOG, +0.87% Google and Facebook parent Meta FB, -0.84%. Apple and Google both delayed their reopening plans indefinitely, while Meta intends to fully reopen March 28.