London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2026

Google’s former HR chief says your boss wants to boil you slowly like a frog to get you back in the office, and it will be terrible for morale and productivity

Google’s former HR chief says your boss wants to boil you slowly like a frog to get you back in the office, and it will be terrible for morale and productivity

Google employees are returning to the office three times a week. But a former Googler says that may not last long.
Beating the Monday blues will be especially trying for Google employees this week. Starting today, workers are required to come into company headquarters three times a week. But according to Laszlo Bock, former chief of Google human resources and current CEO of Humu, this hybrid model won’t be around much longer.

Bock says that after three to five years of flexible work models and hybrid plans, the normal in-office schedule will prevail at Google—and beyond. He predicts this transition will happen over the next few years, telling Bloomberg it’s the “boil the frog method.”

“The purpose of the ‘boil the frog method’ [is] to do it subtly and thereby avoid difficult questions and conflict,” Bock told Fortune. “But that’s not only bad for trust and morale, it’s also not the best thing for employees or for the company.”

Bock said his research at Humu shows that the perfect mix of employee productivity and worker happiness is a 3+2 schedule, in which three days are spent in the office, and two are remote. This combination, he says, gives individuals the chance to build relationships in-office and work on individual tasks that are easier at home.

But Bock says that executives are reluctant to accept permanent work-from-home models. This could be due to the large investment that companies make when buying luxury offices. But it could also have to do with management itself.

“Most executives have been working in offices for 20 to 30 years, so it’s comfortable for them. It’s the environment in which they know how to lead,” he told Fortune. “They want to go back to what is familiar, and they believe their experience trumps what Humu’s science shows: A hybrid model is better for productivity and happiness than being in the office five days a week.”

When the pandemic hit in 2020, many white-collar jobs shifted to remote work for safety reasons. The tech sector readily adapted to this new format, as many employees learned that they liked the flexibility that working from home afforded them. But a new wave of companies, including tech giants like Meta and Apple, are starting to try to coax (or summon) their workers back to their headquarters.

While some studies have shown that this shift to virtual work does not lead to a lack of employee productivity, Bock tells Fortune that this research is missing the full story. “It’s true that total workforce productivity hasn’t changed, but workforce productivity per hour worked has dropped. People are working longer hours, taking fewer breaks, and working on weekends because it’s become impossible to turn off work.” He adds that there is an emotional toll to working isolated without any teammates or coworkers present.

Bock said he thinks workers will likely begin to want to come into the office themselves when they see bosses giving more promotions and opportunities to staff who are in the building over those who work from home. The new power dynamic will likely force reluctant employees to get back to the office when trying to gain favor with their supervisors.

Bosses looking to push their employees back to their headquarters should make sure that there are obvious benefits to coming into work. Whether that be providing in-person coaching opportunities or free lunches, Bock suggests that employers make the perks to working in the office clear. He also urges companies to ensure that their promises hold weight.

“Many companies will promise a great in-office experience but will fail to deliver,” Bock said.
Comments

Oh ya 4 year ago
Suck it up princess . You actually have to go to the office to work.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
UK Government Rolls Out £5.8 Billion Regional Investment Programme to Revive High Streets
AstraZeneca Ends Late-Stage Lung Cancer Trial After Data Shows No Survival Benefit
London Stocks Fall for Sixth Day as Bond Yields and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Markets
UK Government Rewrites Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Near Transport Hubs
UK Wildfires Spread Across Southern England as Met Office Issues Severe Heat Warnings
British Doctors Warn Cancer Care Is at Risk as Hospitals Reject More Than a Quarter of Urgent Referrals
UK Hospitals Suspend Critical Care as Extreme Heat Exposes Infrastructure Failures
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Energy and Inflation Risks Persist
UK Heatwave Triggers Emergency Alert as Government Unveils £65 Million Farm Support Package
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Takes Regional Tour to Highlight Local Infrastructure and Environmental Problems
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
Bank of England Warns Rising Inflation Could Squeeze UK Household Incomes
UK Government Announces £65 Million Aid Package for Farmers Hit by Severe Drought
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Despite Energy Market Pressures
UK Issues Emergency Alert as Severe Wildfires Spread Across England and Wales
UK and Finland Discuss European Defence and Continued Support for Ukraine
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
UK Government Deploys Military to Help Fight Wildfires and Bans Disposable Barbecues
UK Records Hottest Day of the Year as Fifth Summer Heatwave Peaks in Southern England
UK Condemns Houthi Actions and Warns of Red Sea Threat to Global Trade
UK and Solomon Islands Open Wildlife Photography Exhibition in Honiara
×