Google Tightens Work From Anywhere Rules: One Remote Day Will Now Cost a Full Week

Google is once again tightening its Work From Anywhere (WFA) policy, making it tougher for employees to work remotely. The tech giant has informed its staff that starting this year, even a single day spent working remotely from a different location will be counted as a full week deducted from their annual WFA allowance.

The WFA policy, introduced during the pandemic, initially gave Google employees the freedom to work from any location for up to four weeks each year. However, according to a CNBC report citing internal documents, the company has revised these rules to bring more structure and compliance into the framework.

The internal communication reportedly stated: “Whether you (Google employee) log one WFA day or five WFA days in a given standard work week, one WFA week will be deducted from your WFA weekly balance.” The document, circulated among employees earlier this year, indicates that the new policy has already been quietly rolled out over the past few months.

Google clarified that the WFA policy is not meant for working from home or nearby offices but for employees who are temporarily relocating beyond their normal commuting distance. Those opting for WFA must also align their working hours with the time zone of their temporary location.

According to Google’s leadership, these measures are necessary to manage “legal and financial implications of cross-border work” and ensure smoother operational compliance.

The change is part of a broader shift in the tech industry, as companies increasingly push for more consistent in-office attendance. Microsoft, for instance, plans to require employees to work from the office at least three days a week, while Amazon has already moved to a five-day in-office mandate for corporate staff.

Certain Google roles that inherently require a physical presence — such as data center or on-site technical operations — will remain outside the WFA framework. However, employees who fail to adhere to the updated WFA policy risk disciplinary measures or even termination in some cases.

The response within Google has reportedly been mixed. During a recent company-wide meeting, several employees expressed confusion and frustration about why “even one day of WFA counts as a full week.” Some urged the leadership to reconsider the approach, suggesting it unfairly limits flexibility.

In response, Google officials emphasized that the WFA policy should not be confused with the company’s regular hybrid work model, which still allows employees to work from home two days a week.

John Casey, Google’s Vice President of Performance and Rewards, addressed the concerns during the same meeting. He explained: “WFA was meant to meet Googlers where they were during the pandemic.” He added, “The policy was always intended to be taken in increments of a week and not be used as a substitute for working from home in a regular hybrid work week.”

Casey further noted that the WFA arrangement, initially designed to support employees amid the pandemic, will now be applied strictly in weekly increments — marking a significant shift in how Google approaches workplace flexibility in the post-pandemic era.