Apple sets April 11 deadline for corporate return to office

Apple has reportedly set April 11, 2022, as the date its staff in the US have to return to Apple Park, and other offices.

Like most corporations, Apple has attempted to set return-to-office dates for its staff multiple times over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, though, it had delayed this return indefinitely, but it's now said to have chosen April 11, 2022.

Now on @TheTerminal: Apple sets April 11 return to office deadline for U.S. corporate employees.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) March 4, 2022

According to Mark Gurman on Twitter, and via financial services businessBloomberg Terminal, the April 11 date applies to US corporate employees. There is no indication of whether a date has been set for international staff.

Nor are there any further details. Previously Apple has said at different times that it will allow staff to work remotely either for a two-week, or a one-month period.

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16 Comments

shareef777

said about 2 years ago

Mistake by Apple. After proving that permanent work from home works over the last two years (especially for Apple), what excuse do they have to mandate employees go back to the office? The massive benefits that WFH brings to work/life balance has caught on throughout the country, employers will leverage that perk to lure talent and employees will look to companies that offer that.

Stabitha_Christie

said about 2 years ago

shareef777 said:

Mistake by Apple. After proving that permanent work from home works over the last two years (especially for Apple), what excuse do they have to mandate employees go back to the office? The massive benefits that WFH brings to work/life balance has caught on throughout the country, employers will leverage that perk to lure talent and employees will look to companies that offer that.

I find comments like this curious. How did Apple prove that permanent work from home works? Sure Apple has continued to release products but we don't know what the impact is. Could some products have come out sooner? Were feature delays in latest iOS due to remote work? Would the Apple Silicon transition have happened in one year like the move to Intel rather than the two that Apple committed to? Have unannounced products been delayed? Just because you aren't aware of the impact doesn't mean it didn't happen. I'd assume Tim Cook is making this decision based on some sort of data and not just a whim.

rcomeau

said about 2 years ago

I agree that from an employee's perspective, WFH has obvious benefits for many (not all though as many of our employees prefer separating home and work). From a business perspective, WFH is not ideal on many fronts (employee retention aside, which will likely lead to at least some WFH just to retain talent). The problem is it is hard to quantify the benefits of having your team in the same place. It is hard to quantify the value of the random interactions that only happen when you bump into someone and exchange some random ideas. In general, WFH reduces creativity, makes it harder to build a cohesive, trusting team and creates stratified relationships. What happens to employees that need to be in a lab to access hardware? They need to be in the office. Do they resent those can work from home? Employees who come in will get more facetime with their boss which will likely lead to quicker advancement than those who only check-in minimally via zoom. Will that cause resentment? Many people get a lot of personal gratification being part of a team and being present is important to nurture those relationships.

WFH is like the old mail order businesses where you just stuff envelopes for pennies/envelope. Your job has to be commodified to be viable as WFH. If you want to create, contribute and be part of something special, WFH might not be the best way to go. I predict companies that adopt permanent WFH will either change their minds, or will be overtaken by more efficient and creative companies.

M68000

said about 2 years ago

shareef777 said:

Mistake by Apple. After proving that permanent work from home works over the last two years (especially for Apple), what excuse do they have to mandate employees go back to the office? The massive benefits that WFH brings to work/life balance has caught on throughout the country, employers will leverage that perk to lure talent and employees will look to companies that offer that.

Well, they have a $5 billion dollar building to show that it is being used. Also, such a building should be better for keeping company secrets ? And we all know how secretive Apple is, even refusing to break down sales of it’s iPhone models.