What you need to know
- Apple plans to return to the office on February 1, 2022.
- It will test a new hybrid work policy with some days in the office and some at home.
- It is also doubling the number of weeks that employees can be fully remote.
Apple has a new "return to the office" goal date.
In a memo sent to employees obtained by The Information, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that employees would be asked to return to the office on February 1, 2022, to test a new "hybrid work pilot" program.
Employees participating in the program would eventually work in the office Monday through Wednesday and then from home on Thursday and Friday. Cook also increased the number of weeks that employees could fully work remotely each year from two to four.
Apple wants staff to return to offices on Feb. 1 to begin a "hybrid work pilot", under which employees will work out of the office for one or two days each week. From March, those employees will then be at work Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and from home on Wednesday and Friday. There are a number of teams at Apple which will not be part of the pilot due to their work requiring "a greater need to work in-person".Apple had previously said employees could work remotely for two weeks a year but the company has now doubled that time to four weeks. "This provides more opportunity to travel, be closer to your loved ones, or simply shake up your routines," Cook wrote.
I've honestly lost count of the number of times that the company has set a goal date for its return to the office. It has communicated and delayed the move multiple times as the pandemic has continued to hold on.
Hopefully, this new one will actually happen. It is also good to see that Apple has responded to employee criticism and made its hybrid and remote work plans even better.
