Apple Will Delay Bringing Employees Back to Offices Until at Least October

[threesixty360]

This is silly. Those same people could have been out and about 15 months ago. Deaths are down because COVID creamed the most vulnerable last year, not because vaccines suddenly made it safe for 30-somethings to be in a pub. How can people still not understand this?

That is ridiculous!

We tried this last summer. People like you said the very same thing. All the old and vulnerable people are dead and we should open up. So we did in the summer and steadily it got worse and worse until December where we had to lock down again because we were back to 100s and then over a thousand deaths a day!

And then after lockdown with very minimal people jabbed, in Feb the daily numbers started to reduce. And then when we got to march/April it was evident that as the lockdowns gradually relaxed the numbers of dead stayed low because the vaccine was protecting people who would normally have gone to hospital.

Right now the original variant seems to have disappeared in the UK and the majority of cases are of the delta variant. So they may end reformulating it. But it is offering some protection against the worst effects as society is more or less open yet the numbers are relatively low.

I hate it when people cant do basic maths or logic.

As I said before, if you are right, what is happening with Brazil and India?
You make zero sense.

 

[christian_koehler]

I have read estimations here in Germany about Apple's additional revenue because of work-from-home and distance education being comparable to Pfizer's revenue from COVID-19 vaccines.
This appears to be plausible for me. Government subsidies in the billions as well as money from private businesses and parents.

The Pandemic has turbo charged digital transformation around the globe. Apple will surely benefit.

Forcing engineers back into the office seems very dishonest and dumb to me. It's very bad marketing.

If even Apple can't make digital transformation work well enough with its own products, why should I buy?

 

[Steve Adams]

These spoiled scumbags… Hahaha, one more month… that’s what 30 days?

Get back to work people. These cry babies got to go so they can look for another job if they don’t appreciate working inside the spaceship.

These corporate employees are so lazy. They clearly don’t want to go back to the office. It’s just an excuse for these lazy workers to work inside homes and eat lays chips.

You can’t expect INNOVATION, CREATIVITY, and MOTIVATION. This is just an excuse. Let’s be real we know these lazy workers are putting in 2 hours of work and they are chilling, eating lays chips, and eating Oreo cookies for 7 hours.

what DJ Khaled said… hugging your pillow. Shame on you… Played Yourself.

Apple: FIRE THEM! DON’T GET PLAYED, DON'T GET BULLIED.

What a joke. this coming from someone who sits in a chair twists a few knobs and screams his name once a song. Give me a break.

 

[Steve Adams]

It is easy to work from home when you are writing code or marketing or whatever. Selling someone a new keyboard when you are working from home, not so much.



We found at our company, productivity went way up when we went 100% work from home. We don't need to worry about our workers driving in during an ice storm or when we are having tornadoes. We even found our operations cost went way down when we were no longer renting office space. In general, our people seem happy, get more work done and their commute tends to be stepping over the cat in the morning. I suspect that going into the office will be a thing of the past for most companies.

The one's crying about it are either a. in mom's basement at the moment. or 2. flipping burgers at a local fast food joint. Anyone who actually runs a business, or is in one of these positions knows all the benefits of moving to a home based work environment in today's world. Productivity is up, costs are down. Doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure it out. Only archaic corporations want their employees back because they want them under their thumb and make it seem like they have total control. i.e. apple.

 

[Absolute Trainwreck]

So, retail employees are allowed to get breathed on by thousands of people a day, but the precious folks at Apple Park cant deal with a few wasp breaths from their coworkers. Elitist scum.

Many tech companies realized that their devs are just as productive at home, which allows them to be happier as they skip commute times, parking prices, and possibly living costs if they’re out of city. This also ends up being very beneficial environmentally.

and then here you are erniefairchild1 missing the point entirely because in your strange opinion everyone should be subject to the same treatment for the arbitrary sake of “fairness” instead of looking at it practically and realizing that some jobs need to be worked frontline whereas others can happen remotely. What a sad view - I only hope you never run a team of workers this way because they’ll all quit in a heart beat and go to a company with logic-driven management. ✌️🙄

 

[arvinsim]

Lots of crabs here I see.

Let's face it, none of you are Apple employees so you don't get a say in this.

 

[Alwis]

Let's face it, none of you are Apple employees so you don't get a say in this.

I am an Apple shareholder and a customer, in booth regards I for sure have a say in this.

 

[Mr.Bigglesworth]

lol I can see right through what’s happening.

some of these folks made a very idiotic move by moving out of California and elsewhere and now are required to go back.

I know this Personally. California residents have had a VERY strong hand at jacking up the real estate market to where it is today.

the morons paying $100K over asking price here in New Hampshire is because they are from California. I have seen 6 houses on my street sell for $100-150K OVER asking price with inspection and appraisal waved. All 6 homes sold to people who moved here from California. Not knowing a damn thing about life out here in the east coast.

1 of the owners has it back on the market and it’s being sold for what it’s worth. Approximately $132K LESS than what he & she paid for it.

Why? Because they have to go back to work and they didn’t think it through.

working remote was a temporary solution. A company like Apple is not going to allow WFH positions like that. If they do, best believe they will be close to home for obvious reasons.

 

[kerr]

Apple will bring employees back to the office between September and November

 

[Azeroth1]

Surprised by the nature of some of these comments. Not in a good way either.

Not all jobs are the same simply by their nature. Some simply do not require a physical presence anymore. If you sit on a computer and do video calls all day you gain nothing by going into an office. All it does is cost you money and waste your time. Some people are realizing that.

If you physically build or repair something, you need to be there to fix it. Simply because of the nature of the work. Even if this job pays three times as much, it’s not conducive to remote work because of what it is.

it’s not a one size fits all thing. People aren’t jerks just because they don’t want to go back to a way of doing their job which doesn’t make sense.

 

[Steve Adams]

I am an Apple shareholder and a customer, in booth regards I for sure have a say in this.

That's where you are wrong. You being a shareholder and a customer gives you zero say regarding employee issues. Nice try though. Ahh the entitled.

 

[Alwis]

That's where you are wrong. You being a shareholder and a customer gives you zero say regarding employee issues.

If enough shareholders agree they could force the issue in the general meeting.

 

[nicho]

All it does is cost you money and waste your time. Some people are realizing that.

Perhaps companies are realising that they already factored it into their compensation...

 

[Azeroth1]

Perhaps companies are realising that they already factored it into their compensation...

Do you mean like as part of their salary? Interesting point. I bet if they factored in whatever the $ amount of that is and told these people you can have X amount of money and come in or lose X amount of money and stay remote they would take the pay cut. Or again, I’m under no delusion that Apple couldn’t just fire them and find someone else. Everyone is replaceable.

People just value different things more. It’s about priorities.

 

[IIGS User]

Some of us worked straight through it.

I got 'Rona at work from a member of the "public" while at work. I had no choice BUT to work. Some of us didn't have that option (and I don't have a crappy job, it's a civil service job that I have to be here for that's not terribly popular these days).

I DID miss a few days during the pandemic after I got 'Rona they wouldn't let me back to work, but once I was cleared medically, it was like get your butt back in here.

No sympathy for these employees that won't work...

 

[scupking]

It's a smart move. My company is trying to do the same thing and force everyone back in 3 days a week come September. I have been with the company for 15 years and out of those 15 years I have worked full remote 8 of them. So way now during a pandemic do I have to go in just to fill a seat.

 

[nicho]

People just value different things more. It’s about priorities.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, many many people around the world have quit (well-paid, or otherwise) jobs in order to be closer to family or do something they prioritise more. That's normal.

What are these employees who don't want to go back to the office giving up in return for their rebalanced priorities? It seems like they want to get everything they want and give nothing in return - without regard for those who aren't in those fortunate positions... like, for example, most of the people who sell and service the products they work on?

 

[Lukkee24]

Anyone who believes shutdowns work should not be taken seriously.


Spreading fake information about something which then hurts the population, cause deaths, spread fear is a form of terrorism. (Might be a weak form of terrorism, but it kills thousand times more) Such people should be held responsible for their obvious lies.

One can question the quality of vaccination, but not spread information telling that it modifies DNA, kills by thousands or help the government tracking down people, inject 5G cells, make your body magnetic, etc.

What are you saying shutdowns don’t work for? They worked very well here in the UK to relieve the extreme, sudden pressures on our national health service, for example in the first lockdown - I’m glad you weren’t in government because if we didn’t have that shutdown then god knows how bad the situation could have got.. hospitals don’t have infinite capacity.

 

[Zachari]

As opposed to supporting Apple employees for standing up what they believe in, MR below the line calls them whingeing and whining. So many people across the world don’t want to go back to the office, for so many reasons: to spend more time wirth family, to reduce climate impact, just to name a few. Why do we not stand up together and work towards a world in which employees have more power, collectively, and support those who are already trying?

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to work from home. Uber Eats, cleaning ladies, construction, etc. be wary of those that provide your creature comforts.

 

[Rogifan]

I’m highly skeptical this is about covid. That is just the excuse the company is using so they don’t have to admit they’re caving to a few employees who complained about returning to work and leaked it to The Verge and Recode.

 

[Azeroth1]

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, many many people around the world have quit (well-paid, or otherwise) jobs in order to be closer to family or do something they prioritise more. That's normal.

What are these employees who don't want to go back to the office giving up in return for their rebalanced priorities? It seems like they want to get everything they want and give nothing in return - without regard for those who aren't in those fortunate positions... like, for example, most of the people who sell and service the products they work on?

I think this is an interesting way of framing it and one I hadn’t really considered from this point of view. Namely the question what are employees who don’t want to go back into the office giving up in return? I hadn’t thought of it from that view - only from the view of you don’t need to be there to do your job so why be there. So I think your way if framing it is good for either side of the discussion.

Regarding those who can’t work remote - the people selling and servicing their products as mentioned - I don’t disagree with that. There is a disparity here on lots of levels. Wealth. Class. Industry. I don’t think anyone can dispute that.

On the flip side though, what does that mean? If something can’t work for everyone it shouldn’t be allowed for anyone? That doesn’t seem right to me either. I can never afford to fly first class, does that mean all first class tickets should be banned on the plane since I can’t have it? Granted they pay more for their ticket so it comes back to wealth and money (the what are they giving up), but I still think there is some sort of middle ground here. Just because some people want this doesn’t make them elitist jerks either; but again, if they want it what should it cost them to have it.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

I know this will spark outrage, but as long as half the US refuses to vaccinate, we should be shutting things down again anyway. Our response has been pathetic. Can you imagine us responding to the world wars this way? Having the tools at our disposal to defeat a common enemy and doing so little about it. The UK, as well, has been terrible.

There has been no long term planning. Our success and failure have been at the mercy of the pharmaceutical industry, which have been a godsend and the only part of this that have worked, and then we reject the gift. So we have to make alternative plans because this virus will keep mutating and the vaccines will keep getting weaker in their effect.

I say shut down the retail stores, as well. Delta is percolating in more people than we know including the vaccinated, mutating.

This is now a long term problem and it requires cohesiveness. Global vaccination. What an embarrassment that we can't even vaccinate the country where the vaccine is most available.

I doubt Apple backed down as much from the original letter's complaint as they did from the health reality that everyone is facing. But they should do the right thing and shutter the retail stores for all their employees then.

Everyone is free to make their own decisions on vaccinations and in the US anyone who doesn’t yet have a shot has made theirs. Time to get back to life, quit the incessant tracking of case loads (and the fear porn that comes with it) and let the people that don’t want the vaccine make their decision about how engaged with the world they would like to be.

All of us, including the vaccinated, hiding in our houses in perpetuity is not a solution.

 

[Madhatter32]

That's where you are wrong. You being a shareholder and a customer gives you zero say regarding employee issues. Nice try though. Ahh the entitled.

Buy enough shares and you will definitely have a say.

 

[WaxedJacket]

I'd be champing at the bit to get back to the office if I worked at their campus. Employees must be having a laugh.

 

[icwhatudidthere]

Surprised by the nature of some of these comments. Not in a good way either.

Not all jobs are the same simply by their nature. Some simply do not require a physical presence anymore. If you sit on a computer and do video calls all day you gain nothing by going into an office. All it does is cost you money and waste your time. Some people are realizing that.

If you physically build or repair something, you need to be there to fix it. Simply because of the nature of the work. Even if this job pays three times as much, it’s not conducive to remote work because of what it is.

it’s not a one size fits all thing. People aren’t jerks just because they don’t want to go back to a way of doing their job which doesn’t make sense.

Yeah, lots of people are surprisingly caustic with something they're not even involved with. I wonder why they have such strong opinions of what other people do with their lives?