Apple employees planned to return back to offices starting September
- Apple employees have been asked to return to work in the office for three days per week.
- Employees can continue to work remotely for up to two weeks every year.
- Employees’ return to having in person collaboration will be considered as a hybrid environment.
In a memo, obtained by The Verge as well as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that, starting early September, Apple employees will be asked to return to the Apple campuses and Apple Park offices for three days per week.
"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."
While most employees have been asked to return to their offices on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, the option to work remotely has been allowed for Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s important to note however that teams requiring in-person work have been asked to return back and start working from the office almost full-time — for 4-5 days a week.
Apple’s continued understanding and embrace for allowing employees to continue working remotely stems back to “The whole working-from-home thing” advertisement the company released in July during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The advertisement highlighted the beneficial workflow Apple’s services, software features and products have while working remotely.
Although the company’s work from home plan continued to deliver the best to their customers, it was clear that in-person collaborations were necessary in order to continue innovating and to allow Apple to bring out the best products to the public in the coming future. The company focused heavily on requiring employees to return back to campuses in order for them to continue in-person jobs. Back in March, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he couldn’t wait for employees to return back and start working from their offices.
Continuing in the memo, it was also told that employees will even be allowed to work remotely, completely for up to two weeks every year, in addition to their weekly schedule. This will allow for a change of state to the employees or let them utilize the time for something important other than their jobs. However, in order for this remote work to be carried out successfully, employees will need to get their remote work requests approved by the managers.
The company will be considering this as an hybrid environment for the return and this approach is being considered a “pilot,” according to Cook, and will be reevaluated sometime in 2022.
Cook wrapped up the memo with a heartfelt message about looking forward to seeing the faces of employees and to feeling the creative energy back in Apple’s campus.
“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.”
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