Eric Gaillard/Reuters
- Some Apple staff say they're unhappy with Tim Cook's push to get staff going in three days a week.
- The Apple CEO previously said that in-person collaboration is essential for the company.
- "It's very un-Apple," one employee said about its explanation for the back-to-office push.
Some Apple staff are not happy about CEO Tim Cook's back-to-the-office drive, which he's previously said was essential for the company.
The iPhone maker emailed employees in March threatening to take action against those not going in at least three days a week.
A group of employees, who call themselves "Apple Together," have pushed back against the company's plans, sharing a Twitter petition that argued staff had shown they could do "exceptional work" from home.
A person familiar with the matter told Insider on Wednesday that there is a remote-work-advocacy Slack channel with more than 10,000 employees.
"I don't think there's any confusion about how a large percentage of employees feel, and Apple has had that information for a couple of years now," they said.
In a memo to corporate employees last summer, Cook said "this revised framework will enhance our ability to work flexibly, while preserving the in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture."
But in an open letter posted on Apple Together's website, the union demands "location-flexible work." It has been signed by more than 1,250 people.
Some employees have also used the global union's website to voice their unhappiness with the policies.
One employee, who has left the company according to her LinkedIn profile, said the main reason she left was because of Apple's return-to-office policy.
"Apple likes to keep a collaborative environment, hence these open-floor concepts. I really struggled with my commute coming from SW Austin, as well as being able to hear so many people on the phone like me. I was more comfortable and more productive at home," she added.
The person familiar with the matter said Apple promoted the return-to-office policy as a better way to collaborate and generate "creative friction," but added that "this is nonsense for most globally distributed teams."
They said Apple's explanation that it had always operated that way to be "both silly and very un-Apple. That's the opposite of innovation, and that's how I think most remote work advocates see it."
"Half the day or more is spent on virtual conferences anyway," the person added.
Apple sent a survey to employees asking for their views about hybrid work that was due to close on April 28, according to a copy of the email seen by Insider.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Do you work for Apple? Contact this reporter from a non-work device at stabahriti@insider.com or on Twitter DM.
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