Apple Favors In-Office Collaboration Over Remote Work

Even though Apple technology enables millions of people to successfully work remotely, it seems the company is not prepared to allow its own people to do so. 

Apple has set a schedule to bring staff back to its multibillion-dollar suite of global offices. Its hybrid work plan starts with one day per week by April 11, and increases to at least three days per week by May 23. 

“We have an opportunity to combine the best of what we have learned about working remotely with the irreplaceable benefits of in-person collaboration,” Apple CEO, Tim Cook told employees when announcing the return date in early March. 

While many businesses and people see a hybrid workweek as a logical way forward, not everyone – including some employees at Apple – agree. 

One former Apple employee told Bloomberg anonymously: “…now we have to go back to the office, sit in traffic for two hours, and hire people to take care of kids at home. Working from home has so many perks. Why would we want to go back?” 

That said, the company is offering flexibility in other ways. For example, certain Apple divisions are able to work outside of Silicon Valley, so long as there’s another Apple office they can join. 

It’s clear that the company advocates in-office collaboration; after all, much of the tech giant’s success happened outside of the pandemic, at a time when in-office work was the ‘norm’. To continue with a majority remote team means the company must venture into the somewhat unknown (and also raises the question of what to do with its plush office campuses). 

Some of those who aren’t satisfied with Apple’s return-to-office plans are voting with their feet, but ultimately, the tech giant’s stance may be emulated by more and more organizations, particularly as concern over Covid-19 fades in the months and years to come.