Apple asks employees to work from office starting September. The employees will need to return to office for three days every week. Tim Cook sent out an email with details of this change to the staff on Wednesday.
“For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other. Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Employees will be expected to work at the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. They will have an option to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. Employees and teams for whom in-person work is inevitable will need to work at office four to five days a week.
According to the email. employees will also be able to work remotely for up to two weeks a year,
“to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own.”Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Such requests for remote work will need to be approved by the employees’ respective managers.
Apple employees have worked remotely during the pandemic. However, the company was not very much in favor of remote work prior to 2020. According to Bloomberg, in December, Tim Cook told employees that they could be asked to return to the office as early as June 2021.
Apple still seems to be more conservative in their views about remote work in comparison to other tech companies. For instance, Google announced that it will allow 20% of its workforce to permanently work from home. Social media giant Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has expressed his views stating that remote work “is the future”. He has also allowed all Facebook employees to work remotely forever, as long as they have their reporting manager’s approval.
In Wednesday’s email, Cook has also encouraged all employees to go for vaccination.
“For now, let me simply say that I look forward to seeing your faces. I know I’m not alone in missing the hum of activity, the energy, creativity and collaboration of our in-person meetings and the sense of community we’ve all built.”Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Are Apple employees really happy with the decision? Only time will tell.
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