Google Employees to Return to Offices on April 4, Will Apple Follow?

[MacRumors]

Google today told employees that they will need to return to their physical offices starting on Monday, April 4, reports CNBC. This will apply to employees located in the Bay Area, which is where Google has a Mountain View-based main campus, along with employees in other locations around the United States.

Santa Clara County,t where Google and Apple are located, has been lifting Covid-related restrictions as infection rates have significantly dropped, and the indoor mask mandate in the area ended today, paving the way for Google to ask workers to return.

With cases dropping and Google calling employees back to the office, there's a chance that Apple is going to follow in the near future. Apple has been eager to get employees back to 1 Infinite Loop, Apple Park, and other offices in the Bay Area, but it has had to push back return dates several times now.

Back in November, Apple told employees that it wanted them to return to their offices starting in February, but with the Omicron surge in December, Apple delayed the return indefinitely.

Apple has promised to give employees at least one month notice before they are required to go back to work, and Apple is also implementing a hybrid work schedule. Employees will be expected to be in the office three days a week, but will have the option of working from home for two days a week. Apple also plans to allow employees to work remotely for up to one month per year, giving them more time to travel and be closer to loved ones.

Over the past two years, tech company employees have become used to working from home, and there has been pushback from Apple workers who do not want to do their jobs in person, especially as the company has successfully launched products, services, and software updates with most people working remotely. Employees sent letters to Apple pleading for the ability to work from home on a permanent basis, but Apple is a proponent for in-person collaboration.

Back in June, Apple CEO Tim Cook said there are things that video conferencing is unable to replicate. "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," he said in a memo.

Like Apple, Google plans to have employees transition back to work using a hybrid schedule. Most workers will be expected to come into the office for three days a week, with two days available to work remotely. Google is also letting some employees work from home on a permanent basis.

Article Link: Google Employees to Return to Offices on April 4, Will Apple Follow?

 

[The Clark]

I'm so grateful my company is working towards a hybrid environment. I can't imagine spending 40 hours a week in an office, it isn't 1994 anymore.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

I'm so grateful my company is working towards a hybrid environment. I can't imagine spending 40 hours a week in an office, it isn't 1994 anymore.

In some industries it’s still incredibly necessary. No idea in Apple’s case, but WFH = good is not one size fits all.

 

[ackmondual]

My guess is Apple will follow suit, as the 2 companies seem to be similar in that regard. As long as their respective localities do not up restrictions again (masking, etc.). Hybrid is definitely nice to continue. I mean, many companies have already set that up anyways.

 

[munpip214]

Not looking forward to losing all that time commuting. Hoping companies will allow hybrid or full time stay at home.

 

[aesc80]

I know I won't be going back any time soon. Maybe in a hybrid fashion, but that's about it. That's going to be the future for all devs unless you're Apple (or any company with heavy NDAs and no chance of brining high profile equipment / software back home with you).

Even Apple here in Culver City has openings that specifically say "in person". Totally understandable knowing how secretive they can be.

 

[dannyyankou]

I think yes, but with medical exemptions maybe.

 

[techno96]

I'm sure there will be a lot of whining and complaining.

 

[adamjackson]

I was discussing this with my wife earlier. Note, I live in a rural northern New Hampshire community where you have people who ‘work for a living’ and by that I mean build things, fix things and install things and they haven’t stopped working. Farmers and contractors are still out working and have been the whole time.

Then there are the knowledge workers (us) who can do our job from anywhere. We have friends who are saving $1000 a month on child care since the pandemic started, they aren’t getting up at 5AM to prepare 4 lunches and commute an hour into the office and leave mid-day to run errands or pickup a sick kid from school. They’re down to one-carr households and saving a lot of money in fuel And insurance And they have 2-3 extra hours per day to spend with their families.

For them, a return to office is unthinkable. It’s a time and pay cut to go back.

Me, I miss being in an office and collaborating in person and can’t wait to get back but my 14 direct reports aren’t required to be in the office. Those that do will get a more fruitful experience because we get to all socialize and brain storming on a white board in person is more fun but I don’t judge anyone who wants to stay remote Including my wife. Her entire team moved away from the area to be closer to family and they’re not moving back. The company will have to choose to fire and replace them or accept the reality.

 

[vmistery]

At the end of the day Apple is free to require that and employees are free to look for other work if they don’t like it. In my personal experience I’ve found a hybrid approach works really well, I get to see my colleagues in person so the bond between teams is greater, but, I get flexibility so I don’t have to pay for fuel, can have deliveries at home and from a work perspective can focus on a single task without interruption.

 

[Soba]

It is the companies' prerogative to require employees to work in the office, but there are consequences to this.

The days of most employees being tied to a physical location for a job are over. Why move away from your extended family, friends, and organizations you volunteer with just to start from scratch at a job? And if you have a spouse and kids to uproot and bring with you? No way.

There are an enormous number of companies with fully remote jobs. Many new companies don't set up physical headquarters because everyone works remote. If an employee works for a company that demands they endure a terrible commute into an office in an expensive city, that employee is probably going to go work somewhere else.

I like working in an office and seeing people in person. Working from home does wear you down a bit.

But I am not interested in turning my life upside-down by moving to a large city and paying utterly enormous costs of living that are not nearly covered by the salary increase. Been there, done that. It's not worth it.

 

[jz0309]

they will, Apple has announce the 3 days at work quite some time back and postponed twice (?).
All companies will follow, initially they'll support "hybrid" but that will change over time, and go back to where it was, they might not "mandate" it as such but as we will get back into old routines, the pressure will be there.
WFH is great, don't get me wrong, but for one, it is not for everyone, secondly it is not for every job ...

 

[chr1s60]

Some companies don't want to let go of the belief that the office setting is required. I completely understand that there are jobs that require being in office to complete but there are also jobs that require zero in office time to complete the work. In those situations, forcing people to the office because "it's what we've always done" seems to go against the Apple way of thinking.

 

[Kylo83]

They should of been in the office a while ago it’s silly they are stop working from home

 

[I7guy]

Think it’s a matter of time before all / many / most companies are in some type of hybrid environment.

 

[icanhazmac]

It’s a time and pay cut to go back.

Wrong way to look at it IMHO, the pandemic offered a time savings and pay raise because you had to work from home but people were hired, pre-pandemic, with the expectation of working onsite, not from home.

That being said WFH has its place and employers will need to weigh if it is worth losing talent over return to office/WFH flexibility and new hires will be looking for employers to offer WFH or hybrid offers.

Each and every company is different and will have different approaches to the WFH or Office conundrum.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

They should have been returned back to the office long time ago. The retail workers are working on site. No reason to stay home anymore.

 

[jerryk]

How this works will depend on how professional people can be. If they take working from home Fridays as a 3 day weekend and productivity suffers it will be back into the office.

I have been working from my home office for years so nothing changes for me. But I suspect for some people going back to an in-office schedule is going to be difficult.

 

[blacktape242]

as they should. Life is pretty much back to normal now.

 

[The Clark]

They should have been returned back to the office long time ago. The retail workers are working on site. No reason to stay home anymore.

Retail employees cannot perform their work from home. Software developers, HR, Tehnical communications etc. can and therefore will.

Not rocket science..

 

[blacktape242]

Retail employees cannot perform their work from home. Software developers, HR, Tehnical communications etc. can and therefore will.

Not rocket science..

Then why have the apple campus at all?

 

[fenderbass146]

as they should. Life is pretty much back to normal now.

shhh don't say that, they will find a another reason to extend the pandemic thats been over since the vaccine was available to the entire at risk population.

 

[blacktape242]

Sure hope so...it's not abou

shhh don't say that, they will find a another reason to extend the pandemic thats been over since the vaccine was available to the entire at risk population.

Amen right there~! get back to the office.... life is back to normal now act like it.

 

[teksurv]

I am thankful that A. I work in software and B. that my company allows me to work remote. That said I do the hybrid schedule. 2-3 days in the office because for me, going in allows for some balance and in-person interaction. Most of my team works remote full-time and they are productive.

 

[swester]

as they should. Life is pretty much back to normal now.

Normal is a constantly evolving concept. Whether some people like it or not, the 'normal' for the corporate world is now the hybrid model. A balance of in-person collaboration and the flexibility to work remotely is truly the ideal scenario for both companies and employees that work in digitally-based industries.