PwC Won’t Reopen U.S. Offices Until at Least Nov. 1 as Delta Rages On

(Bloomberg) -- PwC is delaying the reopening of its U.S. offices until at least Nov. 1, joining the raft of firms grappling with how to respond to the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. 

For now, the company isn’t requiring workers to get vaccinated, though it will reevaluate that stance as November nears, Kathryn Kaminsky, a vice chair who helps oversee the U.S. trust solutions business, said on a call with journalists. PwC has about 55,000 employees across 79 offices in the U.S.

“We will continue to monitor the situation,” Kaminsky said. “We’re prepared to adjust our plans as needed.”  

The delta variant --  which can hospitalize even vaccinated people -- has forced many corporations to hurriedly rework plans for returning staff to office, with many companies either pushing back return dates or requiring workers to get vaccinated. Others have reinstated policies that require those employees who have been coming in to don masks.

Companies are re-thinking their office plans as employees increasingly seek the ability to work from home. In a recent survey, PwC found more than half of workers wanted to work from home at least two days a week and almost a fifth wanted to be entirely remote. 

PwC also found that 83% of financial-services firms were seeing more employee retention issues than before the pandemic. In response, roughly half plan to emphasize flexible work to retain staff and compete for new talent.

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