Apple Changed Its Mind About Remote Work
Apple has once again decided to make changes to its remote work policy.
At the end of May Apple was planning on welcoming the majority of its corporate workers back to the office on a more full-time basis. The company has been operating on a mostly-work-from-home policy for many months now. Most of the corporate employees based out of Apple’s headquarters at the Apple Campus in Cupertino are only required to work in-person two days out of the week. The new policy implementation would have changed that. However, in a surprising turn of events, Apple is extending its hybrid remote work policy.
Apple’s revision to its remote work policy would effectively once again give all corporate employees the option to choose whether or not they want to fully work from home. Apple detailed its decision in a memo. Apple said it arrived at its choice to extend its remote work policy as a result of rising Covid-19 cases nationwide. The memo also explained that the company is once again requiring all employees who do come to the office to wear masks in all public spaces. They clarified by stating that masks should be worn in “all areas outside of your personal workspace.”
Interestingly enough, the news that Apple is once again delaying changes to its hybrid remote work policy comes just after a letter in opposition to the policy changes surfaced. The letter was written by a coalition of Apple employees a part of the employee advocacy group titled Apple Together. The letter addressed employee concerns and frustrations with then-upcoming policy changes. The letter specifically took aim at the fact that the requirements were far too stringent and even went as far as to state that the late Steve Jobs would not have agreed with its implementation.
The letter went on to express that Apple employees should have the power to govern their own decision about whether or not they felt comfortable or even wanted to come back to the office in any capacity. “We are asking to decide for ourselves, together with our teams and direct manager, what kind of arrangement works best for each one of us, be that in an office, work from home, or a hybrid approach,” read a part of the letter.
The letter drafted by Apple Together in regards to Apple’s remote work policy certainly rose some valid points of contention. However, whether or not it motivated any of Apple’s upper echelon to actually second guess their decision is highly unlikely. Since the onset of the pandemic, Apple has had a history of making changes to its work policies in what they felt was an appropriate response to the current state of the pandemic.
Judging by the memo, that looks like what is going on here. It does not seem like Apple has completely abandoned its initial plans, but has instead simply paused them for the time being. All employees can likely expect the company to once again return to the office on a more full-time basis once they feel it is safer to do so. For some though, especially those who partook in the writing of the advocacy letter, the news likely comes as a welcome and warranted respite.
