Topline
Apple employees initiated a petition early Monday opposing the company’s forthcoming policy requiring corporate workers to be in the office three days a week, joining several other major technology companies in requiring in-person work, though other large firms maintain more lenient policies.
Pictured here is a sign at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Key Facts
Apple Together, a group of Apple workers identifying as a “solidarity union,” called the mandate, which requires employees to return to the office three days a week beginning September 5, prohibitive in the petition, arguing the policy is insensitive toward health and safety concerns, family care plans and overall morale.
Apple’s return-to-office mandate, announced last week by CEO Tim Cook in an internal memo, is a departure from the policies of several Silicon Valley titans, including Airbnb and Twitter, both of which said they’ll allow employees to work remotely permanently.
Facebook parent Meta is the most notable work from home proponent, with no in-person requirements at this point and plans to allow most employees to work remotely long-term.
Amazon, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet all have policies similar to Apple’s, mandating employees return to offices two to three days a week earlier this year.
Tesla is one of the few companies requiring full-time in-person work, as the company’s CEO Elon Musk warned in a note to employees in June that workers must be in Tesla offices 40 hours per week or more or face termination.
Big Number
3%. That’s the proportion of the 65 billionaires surveyed by Forbes in June said they believe work will be mostly remote moving forward. More than half (52%) said they think hybrid models will be most common, while 45% believe in-person work will be the most common policy.
Key Background
The Covid-19 pandemic closed offices and caused most major technology companies to embrace remote work. Apple unveiled its return to office requirements last year, though the return was delayed several times due to Covid-19.
Further Reading
Apple workers launch petition over company’s reported return to office plan (NBC News)
Most Billionaires Don’t Think Employees Will Stay Fully Remote, Forbes Survey Shows (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/08/22/return-to-office-heres-where-tech-giants-stand-after-apple-employees-protest-mandate/