Apple employees are expected to begin returning to corporate offices starting on February 1, according to a memo Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out to staff today.
The memo, obtained by The Information, says that employees will return under the hybrid work pilot that was announced earlier this year. Starting in February, employees will work at Apple's campuses and offces for one to two days each week.
Then in March, workers will be expected to be in the office Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, working from home on Wednesday and Friday. Teams that have a "greater need to work in-person" will not be able to be part of the hybrid work experience.
Apple also plans to allow employees to work remotely for up to one month per year, an increase from the prior two weeks that the company announced earlier in the year. "This provides more opportunity to travel, be closer to your loved ones, or simply shake up your routines," Cook told employees in the letter.
After working from home for more than a year, some Apple employees are not pleased that Apple is requiring them to return to the office, as the company has been able to release a number of new products with its remote work schedule.
Apple executives have always made it clear that employees are expected to return. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate," Cook said back in June.
Apple has pushed back the deadline for when employees must return to work several times as COVID cases have continued to soar, and in August, the company said that employees would be able to stay home until at least January.
Top Rated Comments
For most knowledge workers, being the office is a relic of the Industrial Age. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Not just for Apple, but for all knowledge work.
Not if Apple loses its development team to more progressive companies that don't make people schlep for two hours across the bay area each day.