Apple Delays Plans for Return to Office Three Days a Week, Masks Required in Common Areas Amid Rising COVID Cases - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Delays Plans for Return to Office Three Days a Week, Masks Required in Common Areas Amid Rising COVID Cases

Amid rising COVID cases across the United States, Apple will not increase the number of days that its corporate employees are required to be in the office, reports Bloomberg.

apple park sunset
Apple planned to have employees return to the office three days a week on May 23, but that target date is now being delayed. Right now, Apple employees are required to be in the office twice per week, and Apple plans to stick to that schedule for the foreseeable future.

Employees who are in the office will be required to wear masks in common areas to limit the spread of the virus.

Corporate Apple employees in the United States began returning to in person work on Monday, April 11. Apple started with a one day per week in-office requirement, and on May 2, started requiring employees to be in the office two days per week.

There is no word on when Apple plans to shift to the three day per week schedule, but when that happens, employees will be required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with most able to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

Apple Park Visitor Center

Apple Park Visitor Center Has 'Update in Progress'

Wednesday July 22, 2026 5:49 am PDT by
There is an "update in progress" at the Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino, California, according to a new notice posted on Apple's website. The building remains open to the public while the work is completed, but the area housing a 3D augmented reality model of Apple Park is temporarily closed. "Please pardon our appearance while we improve our store," says Apple. "During this time,...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Sunday August 16, 2026 8:24 pm PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the...
apple camera airpods

Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed: See Them in Action

Monday August 17, 2026 6:21 pm PDT by
Apple is working on camera-equipped AirPods that appear to be nearly ready to launch, based on a video MacRumors found in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate. In a short demo, a man holds a book up so the camera in the AirPods can see the title. "With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later," says the voiceover text. Here ...

Top Rated Comments

56 months ago
Just give it up. The days of everyone being in the office multiple times a week are over. You made a bad investment in commercial real estate. Deal with it.

Not just apple, companies everywhere. Maybe build more homes and residential buildings instead of large pointless offices.

I work in tech. I've gotten a dozen interview offers in the last 3 months. Not a single company is requiring being in an office at all.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
56 months ago
2 days a week is more than enough to schedule meetings and workshops.

Apple's 'Monday, Tuesday and Thursday' routine seems to be designed to force people to live nearby. If it has to be 3 days at least make it e.g. Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday.

Honestly it's as if firms want to impose misery on workers.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
56 months ago
The market will sort this out...and by that I mean, the top tech talent will likely go where there is flexibility that rewards their talent and productive output.

Companies like AirBNB appear to have it right, at least for now (work from anywhere, no pay cut).
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mikethemartian Avatar
56 months ago
Why the need for the centralized policy? Why don’t they let the group leaders decide who needs to come in and when.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unity451 Avatar
56 months ago
One's personal feelings about COVID aside... The apple culture is built (and has always functioned) on human collaboration hence the building of the spaceship Apple Park with the common areas in the middle and throughout. Virtual interaction is not the same as face-to-face. If employees don't return to the in-person office, the company culture will suffer irreversible damage, and by extension, the products will get worse and worse.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
56 months ago
I’ve gone back to work full time enough is enough now we have to live with it
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)