Apple employees launch petition challenging return-to-office order

CEO Tim Cook says he wants in-person collaboration to continue

A group of Apple employees under the name 'Apple Together' have launched an internal petition, stating that the company runs the risk of suppressing diversity and employees' wellbeing by limiting their ability to work remotely.

The petition comes in response to an all-employee memo from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who stated last week that employees working in and around the company's Cupertino headquarters must come to the office for at least three days a week starting on September 5. These days would include Tuesdays, Thursdays and a third day decided by individual teams.

Cook said that he wants to ensure the continuation of "in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture".

Other offices would "hear more details shortly," according to Cook's memo.

In June, Apple CEO had asked that employees return to the office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, the policy was relaxed in last week's memo to Tuesdays and Thursdays in addition to a third day to be decided by the individual teams.

The petition says a "uniform mandate from senior leadership" ignores the fact that employees were happier and more productive when working outside traditional office settings.

"This uniform mandate from senior leadership does not consider the unique demands of each job role nor the diversity of individuals," it argues, adding that those asking for more flexible arrangements have many compelling reasons, such as disabilities, family care, safety, health and financial considerations.

"We believe that Apple should encourage, not prohibit, flexible work to build a more diverse and successful company where we can feel comfortable to 'think different' together."

The group is requesting that the company allow workers to discuss their working arrangements with their "immediate manager" and that they not be subject to "complex procedures" and "high-level approvals."

Apple Together was established last year after the pandemic forced offices all over the world to operate remotely. The group describes itself as a global solidarity union of workers from across the company.

Apple has prospered during the Covid-19 period, with its market value nearly doubling from $1.4 trillion in February 2020 to its current level of $2.8 trillion. Some workers contend this indicates their ability to do their jobs is not hampered by absence of in-office culture.

A corporate employee within hardware engineering in Apple told the Financial Times that Apple Together planned to collect signatures this week before confirming and forwarding the findings to management.

"At this juncture we will not be releasing any specific names of individuals publicly or to exec leadership to protect our colleagues, especially in light of retail union busting and recent reports of allegations of retaliation from HR," the person said.

Facebook and Twitter, two other big tech businesses, have implemented long-term policies enabling employees to work from home, and last year, Spotify established a "Work from Anywhere" policy, claiming that it would improve work-life balance for employees by providing them the flexibility to choose where to work from.

Apple has nonetheless long made it clear that workers are expected to report back to the office. Because of Apple's stance, at least one high-level employee has left the company.

Ian Goodfellow, a well-known expert in machine learning, departed Apple in May for the Google subsidiary DeepMind, reportedly telling colleagues that one of the key factors in his decision was Apple's return-to-office policy.

"I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team," Goodfellow said.