Apple Staff Complain About Plans for Return to Office Work in Letter to Tim Cook

[vinsalducci]

A graduate school professor once told me; "No one owes you a job." It's amazing how that has resonated since I graduated.

It seems to me that these letter writers tried to leverage the current climate, with Apple's hiring and then firing of that guy that wrote that book that everyone was so against, and thought they could piggy-back some PR with this gambit. And it's failing miserably. Aside from some unrealistic opinions from some that Apple, or any employer, somehow owes it to workers to let them work WHERE and HOW they want at all times, this has landed flat.

And has been pointed out here, letting workers remain remote 2 days a week is incredibly generous.

Now, if the workers don't like it, that's OK. They are certainly able to find employment circumstances that better fit their life requirements. That's the same thing I've told members of my staff. No acrimony, very matter of fact. Heck, I told them that if they wanted to leave, I'd be the best reference they've ever had.

 

[ColeSQ]

A large group of Apple employees are opposing the company's plans to require three days of in-person work a week from September, according to a internal letter seen by The Verge.

In the detailed letter sent yesterday afternoon, addressed to CEO Tim Cook and the company's executive leadership, the Apple employees said that they want a more flexible approach where those who want to work remotely are able to do so.



Earlier this week, Tim Cook sent a note to Apple employees explaining that they will need to return to the office for at least three days a week starting in September. Teams that require in-person work will return to the office for four to five days a week, but most employees will still be able to have two days of remote work. Employees will also be able to work entirely remotely for up to two weeks every year, but the remote work requests will need to be approved by managers.



The new remote working policy is a distinctive easing compare to the company's previous working from home policy, but some Apple staff believe that the new plan does not go far enough and is "not sufficient in addressing many of our needs."

Benefits of more flexible work highlighted by the employees included diversity and inclusion in retention and hiring, tearing down previously-existing communication barriers, better work-life balance, better integration of existing remote workers, and reduced spread of pathogens.



The letter reportedly began in an Apple Slack channel for "remote work advocates" with around 2,800 members. As many as 80 employees are said to have been involved in writing and editing the note.

The letter summarised its formal requests as follows:



See the full letter at The Verge for more information.

Article Link: Apple Staff Complain About Plans for Return to Office Work in Letter to Tim Cook

I read their complaints this way: "some of us left town and bought cheaper houses or are living out of Airbnbs now, because we thought Apple would never dare call us back to the office."

 

[Johnny907]

Just so we are clear, there are two groups behind this email:
Group 1) Employees who live at least an hour away from Campus because housing any closer is too expensive for them, and have gotten used to not having to commute two hours round trip daily.
Group 2) Folks like my new neighbor, who works for Sun Micro and bailed on California a couple months after being sent home to work remotely. He has a larger house here in Idaho that he paid half as much for as his previous home, but he is still making the same high wages he was earning while still in California. If Sun reinstates their work in office requirement, he will have to quit. He accepts that, and part of the reason he chose Boise is because of the booming tech industry here as well as Micron and HP having large campuses of their own a couple miles from our neighborhood.

Group 1 I can understand where they are coming from, as I swore off such ridiculous commuting requirements years ago as I realized I was wasting more time in my car than with my family, and the higher income wasn't worth the cost of missing out on my own life. Working remotely has probably been a godsend for them.

Group 2 I have less sympathy for as they should have been aware of the gamble they were making when they chose to move too far away to realistically commute when/if things returned to normal. They lost the coin toss, and if they didn't make a Plan B like my neighbor, well that's on them. Welcome to adulting.

It is Apple's right to return to in office work structure, frankly, just like it is the employees right to look elsewhere if they don't feel comfortable doing so yet (or can't for above reasons.) If they sincerely feel that it is better for the company to allow remote work to continue then they should have put together a proposal backing up that belief with solid data proving it. The fact they instead put out a whiny social justice rant kills whatever legitimacy their cause may have had.
On a side note I can't help but be amused at seeing Cook and Co's social justice buzz words being thrown back at them. You reap what you sow, and this is the "culture" he has been actively promoting within Apple for a decade. I don't mean this was a wrong choice morally or professionally, just that I doubt he ever saw himself becoming the "bad guy" in the eyes of his flock.

 

[genovelle]

These people are not asking to do less work, they’re saying they can maintain or increase their output without being physically present.

Unless you think that physical presence is required to maintain performance in every possible job case, in which case I’d ask why you think that?

Because people are people and managing people off site is not easy. There are a ton of distractions at home and keeping workers on task in person is a challenge these days. So, maintaining security and protecting IP in an environment outside of the office is not realistic long term. Who is in the room. Did a friend who happens to work at a competitor come spend the weekend with you and leave a recording device to sit in on all meetings? Espionage is real as is clear with hack after hack. Now is not the time to let down your guard.

I’m sure the reason for the 3 days in office is to allow the teams to have meetings about sensitive information under one roof and be able to discuss items you wouldn’t want happening on a 3rd party zoom call.

 

[I7guy]

I don’t know what kind of work you do, but guessing you’ve never had tons of meetings that could’ve been emails,

If a meeting is on the calendar it’s precisely because emails were not the right vehicle for the topic at hand.

colleagues that take 45 minutes to say what could have been both written and read by all stakeholders in 20, and 10 people in an hour meeting (10 hours of aggregate staff resource time) to communicate some info/announcements that could have taken each person 5 minutes to read (50 minutes of asynchronous aggregate staff time), and maybe an extra 10 minutes each for an exchange with 2 of the 10 impacted who had a follow up question.

The above happens because colleagues and stakeholders are not properly trained. (I’m sure this will be refuted, but that is my guess)

Or, a situation where a supposedly more efficient “face to face” meeting necessitates follow up meetings to clarify because everything in the original meeting was communicated orally, and out of the 10 attendees, there are 6 different recollections of what was said and agreed upon without official written documentation of such.

Training again.

Must be nice!

I’m not naive enough to suggest that face to face is NEVER the best and/or most efficient option…but in many offices, it frequently isn’t.

I understand what you are trying to communicate. My point is most of the above is meeting etiquette and companies should invest appropriately. I spend literally all day on zoom and have learned to be almost as effective as I can be in the office. The missing piece of the puzzle is being in the office.

 

[jpk3]

as someone that has worked primarily remote for the past 5 years, i feel for these people. they have something good and they don't want to give it up. can you blame them??

also - i'd like to call out that apple has the LEAST flexible return to office arrangement of all big tech.

 

[Ethosik]

I get so much more done remotely than I ever did in the office. 5-6pm is my second wind and I’m not spending it fighting with traffic. I can turn the computer on at 10pm if I had a brainstorm.

Yep this is another thing that makes working from home more productive. I am no longer needing to leave the office at 5 PM for a 45 minute to 1 hour drive home, prepare dinner and whatnot. I do NOT want to hook up my laptop after all of that. But since I am already home working from home, I can come right back to work at 5:15 PM if I want.

 

[dukebound85]

As a nurse I can only laugh at these buffoons.

you have a job that requires you be on site to perform your job. Many can work from home. Why wouldn't you advocate for this after it's been proven more than durable over a year?

 

[Cosmosent]

Bold prediction time, Cook decides to rent out half the space as Apartments by year's end !

 

[dukebound85]

Unbelievable. Sitting on your ass for 18 months, collecting your employment, and then trying to stay home forever.

because they didn't work while at home huh?

 

[Ethosik]

It’s a matter of meeting face to face, and efficiency.

This is 2021....with Zoom and Skype and many others. There really is not a BIG need to meet in person anymore. While I do appreciate some team bonding time, that can still be done via Zoom. Its actually quite fun, looking at someone's home office and chatting about it. Instead of in-person meetings that try to come up with topics to discuss that doesn't hit with all employees in the room. Like sports (I do NOT like sports) or kids (I do not have kids and probably won't as its not something I really want). Yeah I can't really participate in those conversations.

 

[4jasontv]

A graduate school professor once told me; "No one owes you a job." It's amazing how that has resonated since I graduated.

It seems to me that these letter writers tried to leverage the current climate, with Apple's hiring and then firing of that guy that wrote that book that everyone was so against, and thought they could piggy-back some PR with this gambit. And it's failing miserably. Aside from some unrealistic opinions from some that Apple, or any employer, somehow owes it to workers to let them work WHERE and HOW they want at all times, this has landed flat.

And has been pointed out here, letting workers remain remote 2 days a week is incredibly generous.

Now, if the workers don't like it, that's OK. They are certainly able to find employment circumstances that better fit their life requirements. That's the same thing I've told members of my staff. No acrimony, very matter of fact. Heck, I told them that if they wanted to leave, I'd be the best reference they've ever had.

No one owes anyone a job.

Companies leverage the current climate all the time. They only pay 'market prices' for salaries and product prices. They spend millions to figure out the least they need to pay employees to attract top talent.

Companies have an obligation to ensure that working conditions are not only safe but employees have an obligation to push for improved working conditions.

If a company asked employees to work from home so that the company could continue to conduct business the company is in the employee's debt. Any company that doesn't understand and respect that truth is at risk of having their employees engage in reasonable behaviors that would be harmful to the corporation.

 

[Silverstring]

Count me in! I’ll gladly take their salaries, let’s get to work.

Do you have their education, expertise, and most importantly: institutional knowledge? I doubt it.

Too many people think that a job employs them as some sort of benevolent favor. Do you all value yourselves that little, or have that little to offer a company?!?

I think it’s a good bet that Apple Corporate jobs aren’t low-skill jobs.

If these letter contributors/supporters are so easily replaceable, and an Apple job so easy…why don’t you work there already, this issue totally aside?

 

[TooSixy]

Since Apple's median employee pay is $57,783, I doubt many of those you are referring to were among the signatories of this letter.

Does that include store employees because these don't make much and work in such a horrible environment (before the pandemic and probably during)

 

[Ethosik]

Starting by saying I’m commenting BEFORE reading any of the info, so take that into consideration.

Some are complaining about going back to their offices to work in person.

Meanwhile, others (raising my hand, here) are complaining because after treating COVID patients with an unacceptable lack of PPE (thanks to a broken promise by the state to distribute a supply that was supposedly purchased) and working overtime…our “thank you” was a pay cut.

Some don’t want to go back because of health reasons/concerns. I fully respect that. There are others, and I know a few, who don’t want to go back…just because they don’t want to. I have a hard time showing any sympathy for that part.

For me personally, I don't want to go back due to both health, time and productivity concerns. I basically get 3 hours back in my day every day because I don't need to go to the office. And like I said in an earlier post, driving makes me very very very nervous and my heartrate gets very fast which has lead to health issues like high blood pressure due to the stress ALL THE TIME. And since I am single, no kids, no pets no distractions my productivity has skyrocketed since working from home.

 

[ipponrg]

If a meeting is on the calendar it’s precisely because emails were not the right vehicle for the topic at hand.

I think the one thing that is highly underrated about an actual meeting is that the bidirectional communication of information can be a lot faster if the moderator does a good job keeping folks on point. There are some cases where there was a lack of moderation and the meeting fell apart. That is location agnostic.

Usually if I can't solve something within a few slack messages, I will jump on a Zoom because it's just faster especially with screen sharing.

 

[cmaier]

Does that include store employees because these don't make much and work in such a horrible environment (before the pandemic and probably during)

Seems like it would, because engineers make a hell of a lot more than that.

 

[genovelle]

Since Apple's median employee pay is $57,783, I doubt many of those you are referring to were among the signatories of this letter.

Well since they work in the spaceship they are likely designers or engineers of some kind. The average Apple design engineers makes $150,000-300,000 according to indeed. This is 74% higher than the national average.

 

[4jasontv]

If a meeting is on the calendar it’s precisely because emails were not the right vehicle for the topic at hand.

Face-to-face meetings are so frequently unnecessary the meme is printed on refrigerator magnets and coffee cups. Being scheduled is not justification for existence.

 

[Ethosik]

I'm Director of Development at a medical start up. I got some of this "pushback" when I announced we were going back into the office.

"Well...the good news is....you don't have to WANT to come back into the office to work. You just have to do it." 1 month later, no one has quit, and there is no grumbling.

If someone feels that strongly about working from home, they might very well be looking at other opportunities. Just because nobody quit yet, doesn't mean they are not looking. I know I will need to make a decision if I am required to come back to the office if I want to look elsewhere. I still won't quit a job without having a new one available.

 

[Silverstring]

I spend literally all day on zoom and have learned to be almost as effective as I can be in the office. The missing piece of the puzzle is being in the office.

I’m not refuting you or saying you’re wrong…but can you expand on this?

What can you point to specifically that is lost for you in a Zoom meeting? How are you less effective that way?

Is there anything tangible or quantitive about the productivity loss, or do you just feel more effective in person?

I’m genuinely asking.

 

[ipponrg]

And like I said in an earlier post, driving makes me very very very nervous and my heartrate gets very fast which has lead to health issues like high blood pressure due to the stress ALL THE TIME. And since I am single, no kids, no pets no distractions my productivity has skyrocketed since working from home.

This is kind of a tangent, but there's a recent Netflix documentary on how the human body deals with stress. The more your body is exposed to it, the more it can adapt and perform. Obviously it doesn't apply to everyone. I used to be super stress about work and driving back when I lived in a metro drivable city, but I noticed that I started to get used to the stress. My blood pressure at the beginning was fairly high (i.e. my body was physically flushed red), but when my body adapted, it began to regulate to normal. Now I'm addicted to the "stress" - which arguably is a bad thing

 

[I7guy]

Face-to-face meetings are so frequently unnecessary the meme is printed on refrigerator magnets and coffee cups. Being scheduled is not justification for existence.

This comment is far from reality, imo. Maybe it’s reality for you in your job.

 

[4jasontv]

This is kind of a tangent, but there's a recent Netflix documentary on how the human body deals with stress. The more your body is exposed to it, the more it can adapt and perform. Obviously it doesn't apply to everyone. I used to be super stress about work and driving back when I lived in a metro drivable city, but I noticed that I started to get used to the stress. My blood pressure at the beginning was fairly high (i.e. my body was physically flushed red), but when my body adapted, it began to regulate to normal. Now I'm addicted to the "stress" - which arguably is a bad thing

The human body can heal from lashes. Should companies be able to whip employees since they can adapt?

 

[ipponrg]

What can you point to specifically that is lost for you in a Zoom meeting? How are you less effective that way?

I know your question was to another, but I wanted to add that responding to body language and whiteboarding are 2 of the things I can think of at least from my field.