Many Apple employees want the ability to work from home and are concerned about colleagues leaving if in-office work is required, according to an internal survey designed by staffers.
Credit: Apple
Nearly 90% of respondents to the survey, which was distributed in June, said that they "strongly agree" with the statement that "location-flexible working options are a very important issue to me." Staffers defined "location-flexible" as the ability to work from home indefinitely.
According to The Verge, which obtained the survey, the question about work arrangements was answered by 1,749 people. It was reportedly sent out in a Slack channel created to discuss remote work.
About 58.5% of respondents also said they were concerned about colleagues leaving because of non-flexible work arrangements, while 36.7% said they're worried they would have to leave the company.
Designed as a grassroots effort by Apple employees, the staffers sent the results of the survey to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple people chief Deirdre O'Brien on June 14. They included a video with personal testimonies from 24 Apple workers.
Back in June, Cook announced a plan for employees to return to in-office work for three days a week starting in September. Some Apple staffers penned a letter to Cook and Apple leadership pleading for more flexible options.
On June 30, weeks after the letter was sent, O'Brien released an internal video that doubled-down on the hybrid work model, stating that "in-person collaboration is essential" to Apple's culture and future.
While Apple is not doing away with in-person work arrangements, it does appear to moving forward with hybrid models. Later in 2021, the company will test a hybrid work model for retail employees that will see them conducting remote customer service and technical support tasks in weeks when they aren't working in a store.
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