Apple Postpones Plan To Call Employees Back To Office Amid Severe Resistance

Amid senior company executives resigning over its return to office policy, Apple has modified and delayed its plans.

New Delhi: Amid senior company executives resigning over its return to office policy, Apple has modified and delayed its plans. The tech giant has postponed its policy that required its staffers to return to the office this month after two years of working from home due to the global coronavirus pandemic as the move faced severe resistance from employees, the media has reported.

The decision to modify and delay the return to office policy was welcomed by hundreds of Apple employees who were unhappy with the company’s demand that they begin coming to the office three days a week in late May, according to a report published in The New York Times.

A group of Apple employees that is dubbed "Apple Together" recently published an open letter directed at Apple's executive leadership. The portion of the open letter read: "We wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on the return to office so that you may better understand why we do not believe in the Hybrid Working pilot. You have characterized the decision for the Hybrid Working Pilot as being about combining the “need to commune in-person” and the value of flexible work. But in reality, it does not recognize flexible work and is only driven by fear. Fear of the future of work, fear of worker autonomy, fear of losing control. Let us explain."

Ian Goodfellow, a director of machine learning (ML) at Apple is opposed to the idea and has announced leaving the iPhone maker due to its return to work policy. Several employees are unhappy with Apple's gradual return to office policy.

The group also highlights the effect that commuting in heavy traffic cities where the tech titan has its offices, including areas of Los Angeles, Bay Area, or Austin, Texas, has on the personal lives, energy and availability at work of its employees.

Earlier in March, Apple CEO Tim Cook had mentioned a plan to have company employees who had been working from home return to the office.