Apple Sets April 11 Deadline for U.S. Employees to Return to Office

[MacRumors]

Apple has set an April 11 deadline for corporate employees in the U.S. to return to offices like Apple Park, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple is planning for a hybrid in-office and at-home work schedule going forward. The report states that Apple employees will be required to work from the office at least one day per week by April 11, at least two days per week by May 2, and at least three days per week by May 23. Those three days would be Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with most employees having the option to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.

"For many of you, I know that returning to the office represents a long-awaited milestone and a positive sign that we can engage more fully with the colleagues who play such an important role in our lives," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg. "For others, it may also be an unsettling change."

Apple originally aimed for employees to return to the office in February, but the plans were delayed indefinitely due to rising COVID-19 cases. With reported cases having since declined in the U.S., Apple is once again attempting a return to in-person work.

Apple's corporate employees have largely been working from home since the start of the pandemic. Apple executives have routinely made it clear that employees would eventually need to return to the office once it is safer to do so, despite some employees objecting.

"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," Cook said in a June 2021 memo to employees. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate."

Apple's decision comes just a few days after Google said that its employees would need to return to offices starting April 4.

Article Link: Apple Sets April 11 Deadline for U.S. Employees to Return to Office

 

[antiprotest]

Or else...?

 

[adamjackson]

Or else...?

Very likely.

We'll have to see how all of this plays out. If 50,000 people refuse, well that's a lot of attrition that could have been avoided.

 

[basher]

Or else...?

What an unfortunate post to this article. Simply sad.

 

[MallardDuck]

Regardless of feelings about the pandemic, this is a mistake from a recruiting strategy. flexible work in tech is becoming a must have in order to get the best talent, especially with people not wanting to live in high cost states. They're cutting themselves off from the bulk of the potential employee pool.

 

[Nick A]

If the same work is capable of being completed remotely there’s absolutely no reason for staff to return to in-person work 100% of the time.

A hybrid work environment is the future and any company or business who doesn’t get on board is stuck in the past.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This is great news! I hope the date does not change again. I can't wait for Apple to hold its in-person Apple events later this year.

 

[supergt]

Another round incoming of remote versus work in the office! Making my popcorn now...

 

[Kylo83]

Should of been ages ago

 

[Jim Lahey]

Good. Hopefully now the teams can start communicating again. There are so many poor and inconsistent design choices across their platforms it's getting beyond a joke. Why is 'Open in new tab' on Mac Safari now 'Open in background' on iPad? Just one tiny but irritating example. Of more immediate concern is the absolutely disastrous and user hostile sidebars in both versions. Maybe if people are actually banging heads together in real life then things might get done. Right now it feels like their developer teams are working on different sides of the galaxy from each other while their bosses are on the golf course in another universe.

ETA: Many thanks to @kalafalas for setting me straight on the open in new tab thing.

 

[DFZD]

Apple Investors - Sounds Like a Plan


Next Covid Variant - Sure

 

[Soba]

As I said in the other thread, it is Apple's prerogative to do this, but they are going to lose a lot of excellent people.

A large number (perhaps a majority) of tech companies now allow most employees to work fully remote and many companies don't even have offices for their people to return to. New companies aren't even leasing office space in many cases, and many existing companies have outgrown their existing office space because they've hired so many people during Covid.

A lot of people are going to leave the company if they're compelled to return to the office every day, or even to work in a hybrid arrangement. It essentially amounts to a pay cut for most people given the added living expenses of being near the office (which in Apple's case is in a very expensive area), commuting to work every day, and arranging care for their children or elderly parents.

 

[macar00n]

I am a huge proponent of remote work in general but Monterey was an absolute debacle, it's like they were trying to produce the buggiest, least stable Mac OS of all time. If Apple employees working from the office translates to fixing Monterey and similar dumpster fires not happening again, then as a user of Apple's software I'd breathe a (somewhat selfish, as I know remote work is great) sigh of relief.

 

[canadianreader]

Or else...?

They could have done it gradually instead of having thousands of employees back to work all at once. It’s like the pandemic never happened. What kind of science is this!

 

[AmazeSE]

If the same work is capable of being completed remotely there’s absolutely no reason for staff to return to in-person work 100% of the time.

A hybrid work environment is the future and any company or business who doesn’t get on board is stuck in the past.

Yes that's why Apple offers a hybrid work environment to the people who need it. I don't understand why some people are not satisfied with what Apple is offering.

In that memo, Cook said employees would be asked to return to their offices on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with the option of working remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. Teams requiring in-person work would return to the office for four to five days a week, the memo said

 

[_Spinn_]

Funny how everyone seems to be pivoting on a dime suddenly.

 

[sw1tcher]

April 1 would have been better. 🤣

 

[Rudy69]

Pandemic or not for a lot of programmer working remotely is vastly superior. I've been working from home for 10 years and you couldn't pay me enough to go back to an office.

 

[now i see it]

Working in that gigantic round building must be a nightmare. No wonder nobody wants to return

 

[blacktape242]

Apple Investors - Sounds Like a Plan


Next Covid Variant - Sure

covid is done for the most part... vaccinate the compromised and lets all get back to life again...

 

[psxp]

Well, if people want to work for Apple that's the new job requirement. what more can they want? If you want to work remote, then find a job that will be remote. The market will stabilize eventually.

 

[AmazeSE]

This is great news! I hope the date does not change again. I can't wait for Apple to hold its in-person Apple events later this year.

I kinda like the virtual events more. We get cool transitions and music and no applause every 10 mins.

 

[mikethemartian]

I work an engineering contract for a defense contractor so I need to come to campus to work in the lab but it is nice not to have all the administrative employees on campus every day.

 

[glsillygili]

Why is 'Open in new tab' on Mac Safari now 'Open in background' on iPad?

Was that not the wording previous to COVID anyway? I hate open in background though, makes no sense to me.

 

[jz0309]

so 1 week after Google ... this was to be expected and hopefully will result in improved SW QA later this year