Apple Employees Reportedly Petitioning Against Plan to Return to Office 3x Per Week

Apple employees are reportedly petitioning against the company's plan to require workers to return to in-person work at the office three days a week starting next month.

apple park at night 1
Earlier this month, Apple informed corporate employees that they must return to the office for three days a week starting early next month. The current plan will require staff to come to the office on Tuesday, Thursday, and a third day of the week that will vary by team.

According to a new report from the Financial Times, a growing number of employees at Apple are reportedly unhappy with the new plan, instead advocating for "location flexible work." The report cites a petition formed by the group "Apple Together" that's making its way around Apple and gaining signatures. Apple has been eager to get employees back to in-person work for some time. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has defended Apple's eagerness to return to the office to protect the "in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture."

Apple Together counters that a "uniform mandate from senior leadership" fails to respect the "many compelling reasons" why some employees are "happier and more productive" working outside of traditional office arrangements.

The group is demanding that Apple allows employees to work with their "immediate manager" to decide their working arrangements, and that they should not be subject to "high-level approvals" and "complex procedures" or have to provide private information.

The petition says that Apple "should encourage, not prohibit, flexible work" where employees can "feel comfortable to 'think different' together." Apple's current plan to have employees working in-person at the office three days a week starts on September 5.

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.

Top Rated Comments

stocklen Avatar
21 months ago
I know this seems weirdly controversial now - and ive no idea why...

But this strikes me as utterly entitled and ridiculous behaviour.

Firstly..... 3 times a week? is that all?? more than generous of apple.
Secondly.... like it or not there are some roles where collaboration is needed, and not in zoom meetings and the like - theres no substitute to face to face interaction. I wonder out loud how much better iOS 15 could have been and iOS16 too.... (though I accept that might just be nonsense)

Thirdly, and HERES THE MAIN ONE...... Each and every employee went to a job interview..... and accepted the job based on where they lived, the commute, the office they were working in... etc etc. Just because its nicer and cheaper not to commute does not mean they now have the right to demand a change in their working conditions... THEY took the job on knowing full well what it entailed..... Covid was a temporary and unprecedented problem and its time to get back to normal like it or not.

The easy answer is if you dont like you job or working conditions (and only 3 days a week in the office which is much better than you had when you took the job on) then simply resign. Stop wasting time and energy with petitions etc - your employer is well within their rights to mandate working arrangements like this and if your office job requires you to be in the office then get in there or move aside and give one of the many thousands out there who would love your job the opportunity to do it and work from that amazing Apple Park location (id love to work there!).
Score: 97 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sun Baked Avatar
21 months ago
OMG, the trauma of being forced to go back into work and possibly losing their full time side gig.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
21 months ago
Honestly, I'm all up for coming back to work 3x per week. This is a fair deal.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aloshka Avatar
21 months ago

To be fair though, who wouldn’t? I mean the place is virtually a mini city - has countless shops, leisure centres, it’s own forest and parks, there’s more places to sit with a drink than a Parisian backstreet.
If i lived close by, I'd go 7 times a week. Problem is, when it's an hour and a half drive, working from home is a better option. Or provide housing to avoid the commute. With gas prices, it's actually very expensive to work on-site.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Le0M Avatar
21 months ago
Three days at work, four days at home.
I think that's a pretty good deal already.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
21 months ago
My conclusion at this point, if they are getting the work done at home, why ruin a good thing. The only folks who need to be on campus are those working on Stage Manager, they personally need to be supervised by a stage manager.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...