Google has announced it is pushing back the date when employees will be required to head back to offices, citing uncertainty around the dynamics of the outbreak. Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., which owns Google, said in an Aug. 31 blog post that the tech giant is extending its current voluntary return-to-office policy until Jan. 10 to “give more Googlers flexibility and choice as they ramp back.” Google was one of the first companies to offer work-from-home options when the pandemic struck. While some firms, like Twitter, have made remote working a permanent option for staff, Google sees benefits from in-office work arrangements that it is reluctant to part with and has not followed suit. “As offices continue to reopen, we hope to see more teams coming together where possible, whether it be for regular team meetings, brainstorming sessions around a whiteboard, or outdoor socials,” Pichai wrote. …