Some Apple employees are trying to resist the impending deadline to return to work in the office. The Financial Times took a look at a petition circulated by a group of Apple Together employees, asking for more flexibility on remote work. This petition is in response to an executive order that requires employees to return to work in the company’s Santa Clara Valley offices at least three days a week, beginning September 5, 2022.
This is Apple’s way of trying to return to the status quo after COVID-19 forced the company to move to remote work. Tim Cook has always stressed the importance of personal collaboration as fundamental to Apple’s business and success. But Apple Together argues that the company’s culture of secrecy makes random moments of inspiration impossible and that employees will be happier and more productive with more flexible schedules.
The new work schedule has already undergone adjustments after objections – the original plan was to introduce office work on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Now Tuesday and Thursday are mandatory, and the third day in the office is determined jointly by the employee and his or her supervisor.
Even so, the toughness of the announcement has already led to Apple’s head of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, resigning from the company in search of more flexible work schedules.
