Apple Employees Form Resistance Against Company’s Return-To-Office Plans

Apple employees have banded together to push back against the company’s plans to force them back into the office now that the pandemic is ‘over’ – tweeting a Monday petition which claims that employees have shown they can do “exceptional work” from home.

Are you an office-based Apple employee? Are you less than thrilled with the RTO mandate? Sign the petition, lets stand together. #appletogether https://t.co/KO0Y0rGvQB

— AppleTogether (@AppleLaborers) August 22, 2022

“Apple leadership recently announced they require a general return to office starting the week of Sept 5 (Labor Day). This uniform mandate from senior leadership does not consider the unique demands of each job role nor the diversity of individuals,” the petition continues, adding reasons that include “disabilities (visible or not); family care; safety, health, and environmental concerns; financial considerations; to just plain being happier and more productive.”

The workers demand that Apple “allows each of us to work directly with our immediate manager to figure out what kind of flexible work arrangements are best for each of us and for Apple,” and “These work arrangements should not require higher level approvals, complex procedures, or providing private information.”

The petition comes on the heels of an announcement from CEO Tim Cook that employees had to return to the office for at least three days a week in a push to restore “in person collaboration.”

As Insider notes, employees have been pushing back against a return to pre-pandemic work arrangements – with dozens of signing a letter to Cook signaling their frustration with the company’s stance.

Employees said in the letter, seen by The Verge last year, that they felt “not just unheard, but at times actively ignored” during communication about remote work at Apple.

In May, Ian Goodfellow, Apple’s former machine learning director reportedly left the company for Google’s DeepMind due to Apple’s return-to-office plans. -Insider

The employees circulating the latest petition want Apple to “encourage, not prohibit, flexible work to build a more diverse and successful company where we can feel comfortable to “think different” together.”