Walmart has asked its employees to return to offices from November 8, 2021. The Company, after operating remotely for a large portion of the pandemic, said in an official note to employees, “there is no substation for being in offices together.”
The move is a part of the Company’s policy change which incorporates a “new, more flexible way of working”.
The policy implementation won’t be uniform throughout the Company. Its global tech workforce will still continue to work from remote locations, the note said. This includes teams of software engineers and data scientists.
Further, the return to office policy will vary from area to area, as reported by the media. The Company will notify employees about their expected date to return to office, based on the nature of their work, role and place of work.
Donna Morris, Chief People Officer, Walmart, said that all employees who are scheduled to return to campuses will have to be fully vaccinated or have an approved accommodation for the same. Those who get an approved exemption, on religious or medical grounds, would be required to wear masks and undertake regular COVID-19 tests.
She also said that the Company had to shift plans to move back to office multiple times through the various waves of the pandemic. The retail company had mandated every corporate employee to be inoculated back in July. The deadline to get the jabs was set at October 4.
