AstraZeneca dinged for inaccurate vaccine data in press release, productivity on collaborative tasks falters during WFH, and Citigroup bans Friday video calls

Hello, Communicators:

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced an end to remote work for the city’s 80,000 municipal employees, who will be returning to their offices starting May 3.

“The move is meant to broadcast that New York City will soon be open for business, and to encourage private companies to follow suit—lifting the hopes of landlords whose skyscrapers have largely sat empty as office workers stayed home,” reports The New York Times. “‘We’re going to make it safe, but we need our city workers back in their offices where they can do the most to help their fellow New Yorkers,’ Mr. de Blasio said Tuesday. ‘And it’s also going to send a powerful message about this city moving forward.’”

Communicators at high-profile companies or organizations should take note of how De Blasio’s decision to reopen offices, and risk employee wellbeing, to “send a powerful message” hasn’t been well-received. Any decisions about your workforce, including returning to a physical office, should first and foremost be motivated by—and communicated around—the wellbeing of your employees.