Apple employees reject return-to-office directive

A petition has been launched to advocate for flexible working arrangements to accommodate the varied needs of Apple employees.
By: | August 24, 2022

Apple employees are against the firm’s return-to-office directive, with a group of staff raising a petition stating that employees have shown over the pandemic that they can do “exceptional work” from home.

Employees asking for flexible working arrangements may have “compelling reasons and circumstances” such as disabilities or care responsibilities, said the petition. Some employees might also just be “happier and more productive” when working from home, it added, reports Business Insider.

The petition also demands that decisions on flexible work arrangements be left up to individuals and their immediate managers, and has also asked that such arrangements be free of higher level approvals and not require staff to provide private information.

READ: More Apple employees returning to the office

Apple’s senior leadership has told employees that they have to return to the office for at least three days a week. A memo sent by Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted that the push to get staff back in the office was designed to restore “in-person collaboration,” reports The Guardian.

In 2021, dozens of Apple workers wrote to their CEO communicating their frustration with the firm’s stance on remote working.