Employees at global asset manager Carlyle Group have been told to avoid public transport when offices reopen around the world.
They must avoid public transport on their commute, and if they use public transport over weekends, they should work from home for 14 days, according to one report.
Staff are expected to walk, bike or drive to the company’s offices, including in New York and Washington, D.C. as it looks to control the spread of the coronavirus and avoid staff outbreaks.
Carlyle Group CG, -0.07% said that returning to its 31 offices globally would be “entirely voluntary” and the measures around public transport were to protect its staff.
“Our global policy, which includes encouraging workers not to use public transportation, is designed to protect the health and well-being of every colleague,” it said.
“As the situation continues to evolve, we are asking everyone to take an approach that works for their personal situation,” it added.
Offices at many of the world’s biggest financial institutions have been near empty throughout the coronavirus outbreak, and many firms are looking at ways to permanently keep staff working remotely to some extent.
The FTSE 100 fund manager Schroders said in August that its staff could work remotely indefinitely while the chairman of big four accountancy PwC said the firm expects a more even split between office and home working moving forward.
They were among financial firms including retail bank RBS announcing extended work from home policies, while social media giants Facebook and Twitter have said many staff could work from home indefinitely.
Details of the Carlyle Group public transport policy was first reported in the Financial Times newspaper.
This article originally appeared on MarketWatch.
