Apple staff called back to the office for three days a week
Apple employees must return to the office for three days a week from September, chief executive Tim Cook has said, as the tech giant signalled an end to the work-from-home era.
In a company-wide memo, the Apple boss said: “For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other.
“Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”
The internal note, first reported by The Verge, adds that teams requiring “in-person” work will return for four to five days a week.
Staff will be asked to come into the office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with options for remote working on Wednesdays and Fridays.
However, the company will allow remote working for up to two weeks a year for staff to be “closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own”.
The policy is similar to those rolled out by Amazon and Google, which have both announced plans to get workers back in the office.
It differs from other tech rivals Facebook and Twitter, however, which will allow many employees to work from home permanently if they want.
In the UK many companies are adopting a more flexible approach to working models. British Gas owner Centrica, outsourcer Capita and banks Santander and Natwest have all said they will employ a combination of office and remote working.
A recent survey of 2,000 office workers and 500 business leaders for flexible office business Orega found 53 per cent of staff plan to work in a hybrid model between work and home.
Around 28 per cent of workers plan to work five days a week in the office, while 17 per cent plan to work remotely full time.