Google is one of the most innovative companies in the world. They were also early adopters of working from home, something that was surprisingly rare amongst silicon valley tech giants. Now they are preparing for a return to the workplace and predicting some permanent adjustments to their workflow.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that he would be bringing employees back to the office cautiously and will give many of his workers the option to remain working from home. His reasons were not financial. Google just crushed their quarterly earnings, up 13 percent in earnings year over year and growing their workforce by almost twenty thousand. He also didn’t do it to save office space, they own many of their headquarter buildings.

His reason, or at least the reason he told the world, was emotional. He acknowledged the fact that for some people, returning to the office “might cause anxiety.” This is another factor that could lead to less need for office desks. But, this should also be weighed against the likely decrease in office density from social distancing measures. Google is showing why they are one of the leaders when it comes to work and workplace. Hopefully, their focus on employee wellbeing, both physical and mental, will set an example other occupiers and office managers.