The telecommunications giant AT&T had issued a statement to workers telling them to prepare to return to the office as soon as September 21st. This announcement was met with resistance by employees, who eventually filed a petition to make working from home permanent. Proponents of extending the work-from-home policy indefinitely cited the dangers of COVID exposure during an ongoing pandemic and used the steady production of the workforce as justification for the move.
The online position is a very public move, one that might be repeated by other workforces. At the time of writing, it had around 5,500 signatures of the 7,500 desired. If this tactic catches on, it might become a go-to way for workers to make their desire to work from home known to management.
While the ability to produce while working from home will be a long-lasting reason not to return to the office, the dangers of COVID might not. Infection numbers are dropping slowly in the U.S., and thanks to high vaccination rates and new medications, the threat of complications is quite low.