Google Maps uses more than 200 employees of Cognizant Technology Solutions, which wants them to start working five days a week in Bothell, Wash., next month.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York TimesGoogle Maps contract employees who are required to return to their office in Washington State recently circulated a petition to keep working from home since some cannot afford their commutes, presenting another challenge to Google’s plan to refill offices and restore campus life.The issue affects more than 200 workers who are employed by the outsourcing firm Cognizant Technology Solutions, which mandated that they work in an office in Bothell five days a week starting on June 6. The workers play an essential role updating routes and destinations on Google Maps, a service used by more than one billion people a month.About 60 percent of the 200 workers signed the petition. They demanded that managers suspend the return-to-office timeline and first address employees’ financial, health and child care concerns.“Gas is around $5 per gallon currently, and m …
