Apple, Google Employees Angry Over Return To Office, Want WFH To Continue

Early in June, Apple CEO Tim Cook proposed a new hybrid model in a company-wide memo telling staff that they would be required to be present in the office three days a week starting in early September. But that hasn¡¯t gone down well with some of the employees claiming to leave the company if Apple demands their physical presence in the office.

Reuters

When the announcement was made, Apple¡¯s employees had expressed their frustration against the new policy in their letter saying that it had forced some employees to quit. Now a new report from The Verge says that Apple has been denying even more requests from employees to continue working from home. In a company Slack channel with 6,000 members, employees are arguing about leaving one of the world¡¯s most profitable firms if it doesn¡¯t change its decision.

Apple employees angry over return to office policy

¡°While Apple historically discouraged employees from working from home, there were one-off exceptions to the rule, and some teams were more lenient than others. Now, employees say that even those exceptions are being denied. In a company Slack channel where employees advocate for remote work, roughly 10 people said they were resigning due to the hybrid work policy or knew others who¡¯d been forced to quit,¡± the report said.

The report cited employees saying that the Cupertino-based tech giant has told them that permanent remote work would only be approved for those with documented medical conditions. That requires workers to share their medical records with the company, which ¡°made some people uncomfortable.¡±

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¡ª Cher Scarlett (@cherthedev) https://twitter.com/cherthedev/status/1415798144726671360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2021

In a survey on remote work conducted by Apple employees last month, at least 90 per cent of employees said flexible options are important to them. Now, some are reportedly thinking about writing another letter to Apple, while others are discussing taking the legal route.

Google hybrid work not flying internally

Google employees, too, aren¡¯t particularly happy with the company¡¯s determination to bring most employees back to the office. In May, CEO Sundar Pichai announced plans for a "hybrid" work environment that would require most employees to work from their offices at least three days a week beginning in September. Under the new structure, 20 per cent of employees would work remotely. Another 20 per cent could work from new locations, but the salary would be adjusted based on the local market.

Reuters

And while Google deliberates upon bringing individual employees back to the office, some staff are becoming increasingly frustrated with the uncertainty that looms over their shoulders. Tensions have reportedly broken out over office transfers and the prospect of pay cuts; the overall confusion and uneven enforcement of the policy, especially among lower-level staff, also doesn¡¯t help.

All this even after Google software engineers said in a recent survey that they felt as productive working from home as they did before the pandemic.

Workers in many industries have decided to quit their jobs rather than give up virtual work. However, this is unlikely to result in a mass exodus for Google or Apple because of the lavish salaries and other perks that they offer their employees. But all eyes for sure will be on internet giants Apple and Google when their employees transition back to office life.