Apple Employees Asked to Return to Offices for Three Days a Week Starting in September

[DanTSX]

I just read a survey on Reddit that something like 80% of tech people said they'd quit if made to go back full time. I'm sure if Apple went full time, there's spots for a lot of these people at other tech companies.

80% of them are FOS

Silicon Valley pay scale is going to drop dramatically once they no longer have to pay enough to allow average devs to afford a mortgage on a $1.4M 3br/2ba ranch 30 mins away from office.

 

[I7guy]

Right, but just because you lack WFH morale doesn’t mean everyone else does. If it was like you said, everything would have come to a complete halt, but, after that initial panic,commercial business has been going along quite well.
Sure, if you compare 60 minutes at office and 60 minutes at home, you could probably argue that people are more productive. But that doesn’t factor in things like commuting.
In fact, studies have shown that productivity has gone up with WFH.
So again, just because you lack the discipline, you shouldn’t paint everyone else with the same brush.

Which studies? Which jobs? Which sectors? It matters what you do, what the company mission is. If the company is a fortune 100 or a fortune wannabe. If the company has 50,000 employees or 5.

I think what the pandemic has shown is that it is possible to reduce the commute. But many companies have a culture of working together…an environment of zoom doesn’t facilitate.

 

[FlyBry]

Lol 😆 ! Apple paid billions for that campus and now Timmy is forcing his minions to do his bidding! Get back to work plebs! I must micromanage you to death!

hey Timmy, you want your time as ceo to end soon? Force them to come to the office and watch how many people quit.

I work for a Fortune 300 company. We are required to return to the office on June 7th 2021 full time. Apple's request is quite reasonable.

The reality is, for many companies in my field we are more efficient when we work in the same facility.

And for any company, efficiency and profit are very important.

 

[I7guy]

It’s funny how ppl claim they are much more productive working in the office…keep telling yourself that after you checked your email in the morning and then browse the web, watch Youtube and talk to your co-workers, drinking coffee all day and occasionally check your computer, type a few words to make it seem you make progress with your work.

Does the above refer to WFH or in the office? Hard to tell.

Believe it or not, productivity can be measured. Depending on your job, for some people it’s gone up massively. This shows how often people take coffee breaks and chat with their coworkers without being productive.

Yes, for some. An unquantified universe that we really can’t put our finger on.

 

[clary]

Apple still perpetuating the COVID scam even with the 3000+ emails showing Fauci is an abject fraud. Got it.

 

[Complex757]

We made people go back to the office for one day a week starting last month and people were complaining.

Some people will never be happy.

 

[DanTSX]

A lot of America got caught short when lockdown started. Some companies were more prepared than others.

However there is a difference between feasible and optimal. It’s true that some jobs dont need to be In the office to perform optimally. It’s also true that some jobs need to be in the office to perform optimally. Every manager, every company has to make that decision. One size doesn’t fit all and it’s not true as a general statement that optimal work at home is inhibited by outdated processes.

Finally there is the “burden” incurred by commuting that many companies do take into consideration.

The “burden” of your commute is built into your compensation, and decisions you took with your housing. Monetary or in kind Incentives to commute cause tax problems for employee and employer.

 

[DanTSX]

Which studies? Which jobs? Which sectors? It matters what you do, what the company mission is. If the company is a fortune 100 or a fortune wannabe. If the company has 50,000 employees or 5.

I think what the pandemic has shown is that it is possible to reduce the commute. But many companies have a culture of working together…an environment of zoom doesn’t facilitate.

Everyones’ sample of 1
Its like everyone here is a Montessori student that thinks that they are self-directed to company objectives. But I just hear people that are task-completers, and resistant to add value outside of the tasks.

 

[thebeans]

They spent billions on that new campus in Cupertino and didn't really get to use it before the pandemic struck. Letting engineers work from home is not an option for Apple. However, it's pretty stupid that people will be dragged to the office in the Silicon Valley traffic three times per week simply to justify the existence of that office space. Selling it is not an option either. Who in their right mind in the Silicon Valley would want to buy a multi-billion dollar office space, whereas everyone has learned that working from home is much more productive?

“working from home is much more productive “. LOL. Yea, right.

 

[I7guy]

The “burden” of your commute is built into your compensation, and decisions you took with your housing. Monetary or in kind Incentives to commute cause tax problems for employee and employer.

I wasn’t clear. I was referring more to the human burden, increased pollution etc.

 

[DesignTime]

How about this incentive — they get to have a job. You’re entitled to nothing.

You are talking about employees who are humans. Not tools like computers. Maybe treat employees like adults and let them decide if they want to work from home (some see as the future) or at an office? If they do the job and are happy, why not?

 

[bobtem]

Who would want to work in that place? They should just turn into a stadium.

 

[ThirteenXIII]

It’s funny how ppl claim they are much more productive working from home…keep telling yourself that after you attend your one 30 minute meeting in the morning and then binge watch Netflix all day and occasionally tap your keyboard for “presence”

That very well may be your situation, I've worked "remotely" for the last 15 years either with a company or my own business. I dont have to deal with water cool politics and small talk, beating traffic, dealing with clock watchers and ass in chair managers. so I'd say im fairly productive, work gets done and so what if I throw on a show, a record, or have friends or family over during the "9-to-5" hours? seems more balanced and productive then sitting 9-to-5 to then enjoy my "luxuries" afterwards...lol. get with the times or enjoy your prison I guess.

I don’t know how to tell you this but….your salary already includes money for commuting...and it was your choice where you wanted to live back when you needed to go to the office.

what are you babbling about? some people dont have a choice where they live when they get a job. not everything is a as easy as it sounds. I've known people who live in for example California, far away from the Bay Area and have to now commute there and cannot relocate closer due to CoL and salary compensation and they've lived there for a long time. similar in lower CoL states, things happen not everything is an instant switch and is gradual. so I think your perspective is very narrow and small minded.

 

[RobNYC]

It’s funny how ppl claim they are much more productive working from home…keep telling yourself that after you attend your one 30 minute meeting in the morning and then binge watch Netflix all day and occasionally tap your keyboard for “presence”

If that's what you did at home then you probably weren't working while sitting in the office either.

 

[BeefCake 15]

I just read a survey on Reddit that something like 80% of tech people said they'd quit if made to go back full time. I'm sure if Apple went full time, there's spots for a lot of these people at other tech companies.

I mean in fairness, tech office buildings are not our typical white collar work environment with amenities that cover everything BUT commuting still sucks.

I love a hybrid system where I can still hang out with people at work especially as I enjoy my colleagues company unlike previous jobs.

 

[I7guy]

You are talking about employees who are humans. Not tools like computers. Maybe treat employees like adults and let them decide if they want to work from home (some see as the future) or at an office? If they do the job and are happy, why not?

It depends on the person, job and company. Some companies won’t offer options going forward, some will.

 

[bsolar]

However there is a difference between feasible and optimal. It’s true that some jobs dont need to be In the office to perform optimally. It’s also true that some jobs need to be in the office to perform optimally.

And it's also true that some jobs need to be done remotely to perform optimally.

I agree that there is no "one size fits all" situation, but it's also true that many company have been extremely conservative in the past and missed the opportunity of more efficient work activities due to the insistence of in-office work and unwillingness to give alternatives a proper chance.

 

[mrothroc]

many company have been extremely conservative in the past and missed the opportunity of more efficient work activities due to the insistence of in-office work and unwillingness to give alternatives a proper chance.

Not only that, but there are many roles that are in very, very high demand. Top software engineers are constantly, and I mean constantly, approached by recruiters.

The senior engineers I know are happy with any comp package that is above a certain level. After that, they choose the place they want to work based on things like remote work, how interesting the project is, and the quality of their peers.

Sure, there are some roles where the company can make it "my way or the highway", but there are definitely jobs where the employee is in the driver seat. The talent will go to the companies that cultivate it, and those that don't will end up with lower quality output.

 

[dukebound85]

Congrats. I own my own business and work outside in the heat 9-5 6 days a week. I don’t sit in a chair all day at home and call it hard working

Get over yourself. You said you were a mechanic right?

Having worked extensive field jobs (not being in a air conditioned garage like you, but actually out in BFE in freezing cold and blistering heat hrs from anywhere working 17hr days), the stresses with office jobs I have found are greater than field work.

Field work tends to be rather menial mentally, though laborious.

Office work tends to be much more challenging/demanding despite the lack of "physical" aspect

They are both hard in their own rights. However working from home is definitely hard working if you actually have a job you are responsible for. To think otherwise is just being naive.

 

[dukebound85]

The “burden” of your commute is built into your compensation, and decisions you took with your housing. Monetary or in kind Incentives to commute cause tax problems for employee and employer.

Guess what, many companies cut pay last year, whose effects will be compounded over time. Is my commute still built into my salary? Or should the benefit from home make up for those "cuts"

 

[sfrangu]

Didn't you realize by now that Americans are a herd that needs to be micromanaged? That's why the majority of responses here are like that. People can't work independently and watch Netflix instead of working, as it's obvious from the responses.

Hold your horses and don't generalize. I won't go into details but that's far from being as you commented. I can see many responses here as the above one you responded to, but let's not make assumptions about all of them/us. Assumptions can be very wrong.

 

[I7guy]

And it's also true that some jobs need to be done remotely to perform optimally.

This was true before lockdown and for those the situations haven’t changed.

I agree that there is no "one size fits all" situation, but it's also true that many company have been extremely conservative in the past and missed the opportunity of more efficient work activities due to the insistence of in-office work and unwillingness to give alternatives a proper chance.

My opinion is that those who perform better and more efficiently offsite and weren’t given the chance dwarf those who perform better in a unified office environment in mainstream corporate America.

 

[spazzcat]

It’s funny how ppl claim they are much more productive working from home…keep telling yourself that after you attend your one 30 minute meeting in the morning and then binge watch Netflix all day and occasionally tap your keyboard for “presence”

Maybe that is what you do, but many of us work.

 

[sfrangu]

that sounds like a poor personal decision if one is driving 1.5 hrs to the office. 🤷‍♂️

That's pretty much within all metropolitan areas in the US. It can take you that long to drive only a 30-mile distance on a slowly-moving parkway-type of freeway traffic.

 

[9927036]

Fortunately no - I took the train!

There is a train in the Bay Area? 🤣