Apple Requiring Employees to Return to Office 3x Per Week Starting on September 5

Apple today informed corporate employees that they must return to the office for three days starting the week of Monday, September 5, reports Bloomberg. Apple will require employees work in-person on Tuesday, Thursday, and a third day that will vary by team as part of a hybrid return-to-work plan.

apple park sunset
Apple initially planned to require employees to return to the office three days a week in May, but that timeline was delayed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. For the last several months, Apple employees have been working in the office for two days per week, but the company is now implementing its full return schedule.

Employees were initially going to be required to work on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but Bloomberg says Apple has changed the plan. All employees will need to be in-office on Tuesday and Thursday, but the third day will be set by team leaders and will vary from team to team. On other days, most employees will be able to work from home. It's worth noting that Monday, September 5 is a holiday, so employees will need to work Tuesday, Thursday, and one other day that week.

Many tech companies implemented permanent work from home policies for employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Apple did not. Throughout the global crisis, Apple has made it clear that employees would need to return to in-person work and 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," Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees in June 2021. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate."

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 store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
iphone black friday gold

The Best Black Friday iPhone Deals Still Available

Friday November 28, 2025 6:24 am PST by
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season. Note: MacRumors is...

Top Rated Comments

iObama Avatar
43 months ago
I don't understand why people on this forum are so against people wanting to work from home. Okay, so you wouldn't do it, but why make fun of others wanting to do it and why belittle it?

I legitimately did the best work of my life during WFH. I miss it.

I think most of those that don't either a) are people who enjoy going into the office for the social aspect or b) are managers who are resistant to change.
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
43 months ago

I found more productivity and collaboration working in the office even though WFH is quite comfortable. I guess those who advocate against WFH work simple jobs and would rather work 2-3 hours at home and spend the rest chilling. Those with more demanding jobs require close collaboration with teammates to maximize efficiency and productivity.
The team I work on consists of people that live in Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan, Canada, and Ecuador... We have a huge workload, and somehow we are massively productive without ever going into an office.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rwilliams Avatar
43 months ago

Get these cry babies back to work. Enough of this work from home. 3 days is more than generous. They went to the office before COVID they can do it again. If they don’t like it they can quit.
The problem is, the pandemic illustrated how much time and money people saved by not commuting every day. That’s extremely hard to give up. So yeah, there will probably be people who choose to leave instead of doing this.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
43 months ago
Forcing people back to the office is a much cheaper and slimier way to announce layoffs.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spike1999 Avatar
43 months ago

Sounds fair. Two days to be lazy and not have to drive into the office? I could do the same set up at my job, but I choose to drive in daily because I've found that working from home taints my home space with work vibes, and I don't want to think about the job while home.
its fair enough WFH doesn’t work for everyone and flexibility is a good thing, but please don’t assume not being in the office is being lazy, not driving in is a godsend considering the fuel prices or the train services being on strikes lately.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GizmoDVD Avatar
43 months ago
Just gonna grab some popcorn so I can read how amazing people who WFM are and how productive they are and they never do anything but work
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)