Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.


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.

appleparkempty.jpg

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
LOL.

Lemme see if I boil down that obnoxious group creative writing exercise to a single sentence:

For Inclusion and Diversity to work, we need to not be near each other.

Ohhh, and this part was great:

“We've come to look forward to working as we are now, without the daily need to return to the office.”

Yeah, I bet you all wake up every day and say, “Boy, am I looking forward to doing another day of office work at home! Yay!!”

And all of their “requests”… my god. I wish Tim had the balls to just say, “Yeah, **** you. You either want to work here or you don’t. Make your choice by September.”

Or at least don’t concede to their demands. I never want anyone to lose their jobs, but if they’re office drones, they can probably be easily replaced, and be taught a powerful life lesson, too:

A lot of people hate getting up at 5AM and going to work everyday, but they do it. They just ****ing do it.

Who knows, maybe they can get a nice, remote construction job, lol.
 
it will be difficult for many companies to find the right balance - not just Apple.
What balance? Just go to work. For Gods sake, they work in a building that is a beautiful modern day feat of engineering, surrounded by fruit orchards. Their nice air conditioned offices filled with natural light…

They make it sound like Tim is asking them to report to the coal mines at 4AM starting in September.

Remember folks, these narcissistic brats are going to be the ones running all our businesses in 20-30 years. Enjoy normalcy while you can😉
 
Last edited:
Do you want to retain your best employees by giving them the flexibility to work remote? If not, then they will just go somewhere that will.

Or, do you want the employees that are willing to show up in the office?
 
I’m 100% on Team Remote Work. I’m so much happier working at home now. I’m saving thousands of dollars a year on gasoline, and reclaiming 5-10 hours of my life per week from not having to commute. From an employer’s perspective, I’m more productive, too, and I’m never late getting to work or to a meeting. Luckily, my company has been very accommodating, and embraced working from home, so we’ve been able to reduce our office space lease from an entire floor of a large building to a couple of small offices, saving us close to $150K a year.
And in that reduced space people have to fight for a “good” place and work with too many people in one, big, noisy room. Because it saves the company some money. Managers sitting in their silent, isolated spaces of course.
 
it will be difficult for many companies to find the right balance - not just Apple.
Perhaps, but Santa Clara county has 58% of people over 12 fully immunized. This county is where a lot of their campuses and multiple buildings are. So as kids go back to school and by June 15 see a lowering of social distance requirements. Apple is being very fair saying by Sept they expect their employees to return to working safely at work. They likely have some exceptions like areas where COVID 19 is still active and they will continue to allow telecommuting as needed.
 
Let the passive-aggression begin.
In my limited knowledge of the company, it seems to me that the quality of some of the software has diminished since the "home work", eg iOS 14. It has been the worst update in my experience.
Perhaps indeed related but on the macOS side Catalina must have been developed well before the epidemic began and is a pretty poor one too. They just have weak releases once in a while.

Anyway, that campus does not look like a pleasant place to be unless you like your open offices on a massive scale and somewhere far outside town. Obviously the people in favor of having everyone return to the office will be managers and others who's job is to be in your face all day. Usually same ones who think removing all partitions makes people 'connect' more. I guess setups like these at least boost the sales of noise cancelling headphones.
 
Whatever solution Apple (or any large company with thousands of employees) suggests a small percentage of people will always be against it, unfortunately/fortunately such people now have the means to moan about such things very loudly. Bottom line is Apple management and Human Resources will have discussed this, come up with a solution, and their decision is what will happen.
 
These employees are just lazy. All these work from home excuses are just there so they can slack off at home, and save time commuting when they would have factored in their commuting time when they signed their contracts pre-pandemic. This means they are trying to get more benefits that they had expected before the pandemic, which is not fair.
 
Some overpaid people at Apple are whining like a little brats, while so many people around the world lost their job. They have no idea what privilege is to work at a rich company like Apple. These are probably the woke sjws that Tim nurtured with his politics.
I agree with this.

First point is yes, millions worldwide have lost jobs due to the pandemic. Apple, Like many others tried to be accommodating and flexible during the pandemic to help staff.

The pandemic is not going on forever. vaccination rates are rising and this disease needs to be lived with in the same way we live with the flu.

It is totally Apple’s decision as to how their company works and whether the remote working is appropriate for their needs. I’d have said 3 days a week is more than generous as a compromise. Back when I had an office job I’d have loved the opportunity for home working but it wasnt an option and thats that. Monday to Friday in the office like it or not.

Which brings me on to my main point…. All these employees applied for, and were successful in getting their job. Their job was presented NOT as a home working role and they took that on fully knowing and understanding that. Fully. They cannot renegotiate the terms of that now just because it suits them better.

Best thing is for all these people to resign… and go work elsewhere in a place that suits their changed requirements.. there will be many, many people who would jump at the opportunity to work At apple and take their place in a heartbeat.
 
Calling them spoiled brats is pure ignorance. The pandemic is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn new ways of living and working. With the internet we have new opportunities to create a better world, and the pandemic has learned most people a valuable lesson we simply can’t ignore. Working from home for more than a year has given me more quality time with my family, less stress and way more energy towards my work than ever before. I save 1.5 hours of transport every day which goes to the above. Think about the decrease in pollution, decrease in stress related illnesses (which costs society huge amounts of money), and the overall improvement in life quality. It’s win win for everybody. Let people decide and trust each other. And stop the trolling, stating people will use it as an excuse to slack at home (thief thinks everyone steals).
 
Last edited:
Make total sense, depending on the job positions. As a tech company, Apple should be promoting the use of tech (eg. remote working) instead of relying on old school "boss-starring-at-you-to-see-you-"work" type of working.

Now of course, there are some positions where remote working can be difficult, if not impossible, especially things that involved top secret stuff. But then again, I don't think that's a lot of people.

In short, Apple shall eat their own words if they talk big about inclusivity, health, and technology. Remember, Apple had 1 year to do this homework, to decide on how to delegate the jobs in this new normal.
 
Do you want to retain your best employees by giving them the flexibility to work remote? If not, then they will just go somewhere that will.

Or, do you want the employees that are willing to show up in the office?

There is nothing in that petulant "We want it OUR way", Burger King manifesto that remotely implies these are the "best employees".

As well, part of being seen as a high value asset to the company is being willing to adapt and navigate the changing landscape with your management, not in conflict with it. Otherwise, go start your own company.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.