The tech giant is looking to a return to the office by September for employees according to an all-staff memo sent this week.
In the memo, chief executive Tim Cook wrote that staff are expected to return to their desks for no fewer than three days a week. Only some of Apple’s employees will be given the option to work remotely for the remaining two days with teams whose work is considered to be “in-person” required to return to the office for four or five days.
The document, seen by tech publication The Verge, also informed staff that they will be able to apply to work remotely for two weeks a year, but managers will be required to approve any requests for remote working.
Cook recognised the smooth transition to remote working during the pandemic but stated that working from home could not adequately replace in-person collaboration: “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 commented.
“Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate. 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.”
Apple has defined Monday, Tuesday and Thursday as the days staff are expected to be at their desks in a directive not unexpected by Apple staff. Prior to 2020 the company was known to discourage working from home.
Fellow tech giant Google is also expecting staff back in the office for at least three days a week in September while Facebook recently opened their offices and they too expect more staff to return to their desks in September.
