The tech giant, Apple Inc., has updated the deadline for workers to return to work from offices, effectively reducing their remote working hours. The new deadline is September 5, 2022.
Introducing the 3-day Work Week
Bloomberg reports that the iPhone maker’s latest attempt to bring corporate employees back to work demands that they be in the office at least three days a week. The employees will work from the office on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and a third day to be determined by teams.
The company has tried several attempts to bring back employees to work, but had Covid-19 spikes delaying the plan. The first attempt was in June, when the CEO, Tim Cook, first announced the three-day policy. The plan was for employees to work Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, minimum.
The virus flare-ups requiring adjustments have had the big tech company postponing deadlines and leaving workers on their two-day-a-week set-up. The employees were notified of the latest decision on August 15, and the policy will begin in Silicon Valley and spread to other offices.
The Future of Work is Remote, Right?
As the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relax its Covid-19 recommendations, so does Apple. While reports have it that Microsoft Corp., Google, and Amazon are more open to remote work, Apple is not the only one calling back workers.
In June, in an email sent to employees and seen by Reuters, the CEO of Tesla Inc., Elon Musk, asked employees to choose between returning to the office or leaving the company. Experts suspect that, while remote work is not going away, the remote workforce will be far less than expected.
While interviewing some experts, Vox shared their views on the dangers of remote work, which might mean reduced or contained adoption. There’s fear of recession, the need for colleague interactions, the need to imbibe company culture in new workers, and the fear of not being in the loop. These call for serious contemplation on the part of both employees and employers on the real need for remote working.
During the pandemic, remote work was necessary, but times suggest that the trade-offs might draw people back to the office. If the future of work is remote, we have a long way to get there, and the path won’t be smooth.
As Apple gears up for its September event and announcements of new products and updates, it probably needs all hands on deck.
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