Macmillan has pushed back the official reopening of its New York City offices for its trade group from January 11 to July 6. Similar to many New York City publishers, Macmillan’s workforce has largely been working remotely since March following the spread of the coronavirus throughout the metropolitan region.
In making the announcement, Macmillan said that it has created a voluntary program that “allows limited access to the office space for employees to work and/or access their work space.” Macmillan first started the program in August at the suggestion of employees, and, the publisher said, “the program has evolved to include access to mailing options and other office services for use by employees both onsite and working remotely.”
The program follows CDC and New York City guidelines, requiring employees to social distance, wear masks, and fill out a health screening form before arriving onsite.
“The safety and wellbeing of our employees are a priority for us,” said Andrew Weber, Macmillan Global COO, in a statement. “This is just an example of the many resources that we have created or adapted to better accommodate the various needs of our employees during this difficult time."
The other Big Five publishers also seem to be in no rush to reopen their New York City offices. All had earlier indicated they were unlikely to return before 2021 and, with a new surge in coronavirus cases, it appears spring would be the earliest the major houses would consider reopening—a target date made all the more practical given the hope that a vaccine could start to be available by that time.
