{"id":2147,"date":"2021-12-01T02:50:59","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T01:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/12\/01\/we-are-just-going-to-play-it-slow-facebook-wells-fargo-monitoring-omicron-closely-ahead-of-planned-january-2022-return-to-offices-marketwatch\/"},"modified":"2022-06-10T19:58:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T17:58:55","slug":"we-are-just-going-to-play-it-slow-facebook-wells-fargo-monitoring-omicron-closely-ahead-of-planned-january-2022-return-to-offices-marketwatch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/12\/01\/we-are-just-going-to-play-it-slow-facebook-wells-fargo-monitoring-omicron-closely-ahead-of-planned-january-2022-return-to-offices-marketwatch\/","title":{"rendered":"&#039;We are just going to play it slow&#039;: Facebook, Wells Fargo monitoring omicron closely ahead of planned January 2022 return to offices &#8211; MarketWatch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cfbc967f0983488262956e73eca9483a\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3859091246952232\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- blok -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3859091246952232\" data-ad-slot=\"1334354390\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p>After COVID-19 sent millions of workers to their homes in 2020 and the delta variant this summer snarled some return-to-office plans, the omicron variant\u2019s emergence may prompt company executives to go back to the drawing board yet again on when their workers will physically return.<br \/>\nA lot remains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/heres-what-we-know-about-covid-omicron-variant-and-what-we-dont-know-yet-01638132079?mod=home-page&amp;mod=article_inline&amp;mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\">unknown <\/a>about the latest variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, which the World Health Organization flagged Friday as a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/world-scurries-to-contain-new-covid-variant-01638020643?mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\">variant of concern<\/a>,\u201d including how much existing vaccines can counter this version of the virus and how the variant will impact the economy.<br \/>\nBut here\u2019s a bet with good odds: the variant is at least a \u201chiccup\u201d in the country\u2019s return to office plans, according to Wells Fargo analysts. \u201cAt a minimum, Omicron slows down return-to-office,\u201d they wrote in a Monday investor note.<br \/>\nWells Fargo          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"STOCK\/US\/XNYS\/WFC\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/stock\/WFC?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WFC,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/203790192\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-2.81%<\/bg-quote><\/a>         itself is one of several high-profile companies that was planning on a January 2022 return to the office. The bank was<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/articles\/wells-fargo-delays-office-return-until-january-2022-51632916766?tesla=y&amp;mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\"> initially aiming<\/a> for a September 2021 return, but the delta variant upended those plans.<br \/>\nThere\u2019s no change in the bank\u2019s return to office plans right now, a company spokeswoman said Monday, \u201cbut we will continue to follow the science as we have from the start. Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our employees and our customers.\u201d<br \/>\nNow  the question is whether omicron is a mere hiccup for Wells Fargo and other companies, or something deeper and more troubling.<br \/>\nFor companies with staff back already, \u201cthey are not saying \u2018Whoa, whoa, whoa, now go back home,\u2019\u201d said Elise Freedman, Korn Ferry\u2019s workforce transformation practice leader, who works with companies on their return-to-office plans.  First steps might include setting stricter on office rules like masks in public spaces or  maintaining low numbers of people in conference rooms, Freedman said.<br \/>\nPresident Joe Biden said Monday he didn\u2019t have his eye on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/u-s-stock-futures-rise-following-fridays-omicron-sparked-selloff-11638141382?mod=home-page&amp;mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\"> \u201cshutdowns or lockdowns,\u201d<\/a> giving a boost to U.S. stock benchmarks in Monday\u2019s trading session.<br \/>\nOn Tuesday morning, markets were<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/stock-futures-tumble-anew-as-moderna-ceo-predicts-existing-vaccines-will-be-less-effective-against-omicron-variant-11638254957?mod=home-page&amp;mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\"> poised to open on a down beat <\/a>after St\u00e9phane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"STOCK\/US\/XNAS\/MRNA\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/stock\/MRNA?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MRNA,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/205619834\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-4.36%<\/bg-quote><\/a>        predicted the current array of vaccines would be less effective against the omicron variant. At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/dow-skids-over-200-points-lower-at-tuesdays-open-as-moderna-ceo-raises-doubt-about-current-batch-of-vaccines-versus-omicron-2021-11-30?mod=mw_latestnews&amp;mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\">Tuesday\u2019s open,<\/a> the Dow Jones Industrial Average          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"INDEX\/US\/DOW JONES GLOBAL\/DJIA\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/index\/DJIA?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJIA,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/210598065\/realtime\" class=\"negative\">-1.86%<\/bg-quote><\/a>        was down 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite Index          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"INDEX\/US\/XNAS\/COMP\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/index\/COMP?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COMP,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/210598365\/realtime\" class=\"negative\">-1.55%<\/bg-quote><\/a>        was off 0.4%.<br \/>\nFor companies that are still working remotely, Freedman was already hearing increasing caution before the omicron strain emerged. COVID-19 cases have been increasing and flu season arrived, she noted. \u201cA number of clients say we are just going to play it slow,\u201d Freedman said.<br \/>\nIf vaccines, medical treatments and social distancing measures can keep omicron in check, Mark Ein, chairman of Kastle Systems, said companies could delay their full returns the office, but he sees the omicron variant\u2019s emergence \u201cmore as a hiccup or a road bump than it is any fundamental shift.\u201d Ein views the return-to-office issue from the security software and services his company provides.<br \/>\n\u201cI think people are just so eager to get back to the office that they are not going to let things that aren\u2019t fundamentally different or fundamentally serious get in the way of getting their teams back together,\u201d he said.<br \/>\nLast week, the company\u2019s weekly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kastle.com\/safety-wellness\/getting-america-back-to-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">office occupancy gauge <\/a>showed buildings where Kastle provides access security were 32.5% occupied on average. That\u2019s down from a 38.8% national average one week earlier, but Ein attributed that to the shortened Thanksgiving work week. He expects the occupancy numbers to rebound this week.<br \/>\nAhead of omicron, other numbers indicated more people were physically back in the office and fewer were home.<br \/>\nAlmost 12% of workers said they had teleworked or worked from home at least once in the past month due to the pandemic, according to a supplement in the Labor Department\u2019s October jobs report. That was down from 23.2% in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/cps\/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> numbers show.<\/a><br \/>\nThe omicron variant comes as 2022 office return dates loom for several companies.<br \/>\nMeta          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"STOCK\/US\/XNAS\/FB\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/stock\/FB?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FB,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/205064656\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-4.01%<\/bg-quote><\/a><span>,<\/span>        then Facebook,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/facebook-delays-return-to-office-until-january-2022-11628797053?mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\"> announced in August <\/a>it was pushing its office return date to January. The same month, Google          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"STOCK\/US\/XNAS\/GOOG\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/stock\/GOOG?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GOOG,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/205453964\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-2.51%<\/bg-quote><\/a>        said its voluntary return-to-office policy would run through <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/inside-google\/company-announcements\/extending-our-voluntary-return-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jan. 10<\/a>. From that point on, offices in varying locations would come up with their own office return dates. Capital One          <a data-track-hover=\"QuotePeek\" data-charting-symbol=\"STOCK\/US\/XNYS\/COF\" class=\"qt-chip negative\" href=\"\/investing\/stock\/COF?mod=MW_story_quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COF,         <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/204480509\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-4.41%<\/bg-quote><\/a>        was aiming for a November return, but<a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalone.com\/about\/newsroom\/office-reopening-postponed\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> announced last month<\/a> it was putting off the event until an unannounced point in 2022.<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019re currently monitoring the situation closely and our return to office plans for January 2022 remain,\u201d a Meta spokesman said.  A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.<br \/>\nCorporate employees at DoorDash were slated to work from home through the end of 2021. Come January, the company said it would \u201creintroduce in-person work for these employees through a hybrid approach, encouraging live collaboration with a balance of remote flexibility.\u201d<br \/>\nIn light of omicron, the company was taking a wait-and-see approach, Chris Cherry, DoorDash\u2019s director of global safety and security, said in a Monday statement.<br \/>\n\u201cThis is a dynamic situation that we\u2019ll continue to evaluate, making educated decisions based on the most up to date guidance and information we receive,\u201d Cherry said.<br \/>\nIf the omicron variant is more contagious, more virulent or resistant to current vaccines, Bradford Bell, a Cornell University professor focused on strategic human resources, said he\u2019d expect companies to push back their return to office timelines. He\u2019d also expect them to tighten access and rules for the staff that is coming back already.<br \/>\nBut the omicron variant is also coming amid<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/businesses-say-labor-shortage-is-hurting-sales-expansion-and-the-u-s-economy-11634749710?mod=article_inline\" class=\"icon none\" rel=\"follow\"> a labor shortage<\/a> when many companies are on the hunt to find and keep staff. So even if physical office returns get dialed down, Bell doesn\u2019t think hiring plans will also.<br \/>\nIf any disruptions from omicron are more long-term, Bell said it\u2019s possible companies will reduce hiring to brace for smaller business. \u201cBut, given the challenges companies have been facing in their efforts to staff back up, I think most will be very hesitant to lose any momentum they have been able to start building back on the hiring front,\u201d he said.<br \/>\n\u2018When I told them I intended to confront my brother about it, they told me to stay out of it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/still-havent-returned-to-the-office-the-omicron-variant-could-keep-you-waiting-11638221758\">source<\/a><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After COVID-19 sent millions of workers to their homes in 2020 and the delta variant this summer snarled some return-to-office plans, the omicron variant\u2019s emergence may prompt company executives to go back to the drawing board yet again on when their workers will physically return. A lot remains unknown about the latest variant of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow1sXXCw:productID":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2147"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4928,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147\/revisions\/4928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}