Apple work-from-home plan returns as the company will continue until October as COVID-19 cases continue to rise due to the spread of the Delta variant.
The tech giant was supposed to mandate in-person work, but the plan has been pushed back.
Apple’s Work-From-Home Schedule to Continue
According to Bloomberg, the company had laid out a roadmap for employees who are expected to return to the offices in September. Some of them expected to report in person at least three days a week. Now, that schedule has been moved by a month.
In June, CEO Tim Cook sent out an email announcing that employees must return to the office starting early September and they should report at least three days a week.
Cook said that even though remote work was proven effective, talking to co-workers face-to-face is still essential.
Also Read: Apple to Test Hybrid Work Arrangement for Retail Employees: What Will It Look Like?
Cook added in the email that employees will be asked to report to the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. They will also have the option to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Meanwhile, teams that need to work in person will be asked to report to the office four to five days a week.
Employees are also given a chance to file a request to work remotely for up to two weeks a year.
Cook said that this can help the employees to be “closer to their family, find a change of scenery, manage their unexpected travel, or other reasons.” The managers will need to approve the remote work requests first.
Cook also encouraged all employees to get fully vaccinated.
Apple’s order to return to offices was controversial among its employees. A group of workers collaborated on a letter sent to CEO Tim Cook and the rest of Apple’s leadership, as they want Apple’s work-from-home policy to be more flexible.
Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s SVP of retail and people, responded to the letter by saying, “in-person collaboration is essential to our culture and our future.”
Silicon Valley’s Shift to Remote Work
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple was against the work-from-home concept. While allowing its employees to work from home two days a week is considered a giant step for the tech company, other Silicon Valley companies are giving more flexible options.
According to The Verge, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees half of his company permanently transitioning to remote work within the next ten years.
Zuckerberg announced in June that the social media company will let all of its full-time employees to continue working from the comfort of their own home.
The decision was a massive change from Facebook’s first announcement in 2020 when it stated that it would only allow certain employees, notably the experienced ones, to request permanent remote work, according to CNBC.
Meanwhile, Google has said that it expects at least 20% of its employees to continue with remote work even after the offices are open again.
Apple is the first tech company to announce its change in schedule because of the rising COVID-19 cases. The employees will be sent a notification at least a month before they will be expected to return to in-person work.
Related Article: Tim Cook: Apple Hybrid Work Setup to Resume Office Three Days a Week, Starting September
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Written by Sophie Webster
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