The new office return date for some big companies? Try 2022

January is shaping up as the new September for many major U.S. companies to summon workers back to long-deserted offices as the COVID-19 Delta variant trips up employers eager to normalize their operations.

Lyft, which had been planning to bring workers back to its San Francisco headquarters next month, is now putting off their return "until we're in the clear," citing the uncertainty caused by the latest coronavirus wave. The ridesharing company now does not expect its nearly 5,000 corporate workers to return to their offices until February 2, 2022, at the earliest. "We anticipate the COVID situation will remain fluid for the upcoming months, making it difficult for us to land a clear return date without a possibility of moving it again," Lyft CEO and cofounder Logan Green said in a message to employees last week.