Tim Cook Asks Employees to Return to the Office Starting September

Tim Cook has sent an email to Apple employees asking them to return to the office for three days a week starting September, reports The Verge.

“For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other,” he said. “Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”

Most employees will need to come in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and will have the option of working remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. Teams that require in-person work will have to come in four to five days a week.


Cook also revealed that employees will have the opportunity to work remotely for up to two weeks a year "to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own." Remote work requests will need to be approved by managers.

While Apple is allowing for more remote work, its competitors have been more aggressive in embracing the idea. Google announced last month that 20% of its workforce would be able to work permanently from home and Facebook said that employees can work from home forever as long as their manager approves.

“For now, let me simply say that I look forward to seeing your faces,” he said in closing. “I know I’m not alone in missing the hum of activity, the energy, creativity and collaboration of our in-person meetings and the sense of community we’ve all built.”

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