Comments from People Signing the Letter
Many people shared their reasons with us why location-flexible work is important to them and others. If you haven’t read the original letter, yet, you can do so here.
I currently work for a power company. A company that sent most of its employees home for two years as the world battled a pandemic. Our company has essential workers that absolutely have to be in the office to keep the lights on. However, about 50% of us do not need to be in the office. Money can be saved on building space, office furniture, utilities, etc… but yet the company, for the same reasons Apple has listed, decided we must be in the office three days a week. Despite the power staying on for the full two years and mo more performance issues than you normally have. Companies are going to be left behind if they do not adapt quickly to a more flexible work environment. I for one believe you can save money on building space and pay your essential workers more. Let me be clear, I do see value added to come into the office occasionally but that can be minimal and specifically scheduled to have an impact. When my calendar is full of virtual meetings, there is no need for me to come in and sit at my desk, I should be able to sit at the beach and do that should I choose.
I am a healthcare provider with extensive experience in digital health. I was recruited for a potential opportunity at Apple but ultimately turned it down since the position was not Remote
If Apple can't identify material needs met only by in-office, it should reconsider. “Serendipity” is not an empirically provable need.
It includes everyone, especially people with disabilities, who more often than not, don't have transportation to work, and can't easily move to a whole new state or location to get a better job.
So many of points outlined here specifically resonate with me. I’m a longtime (10+ years) employee and my being a warm body in a seat inside a soulless windowless room potentially risking my health when I’ve worked successfully from home for 2 years just fails to pass the logic test on any level for my specific job. Give us and our Managers the flexibility to make our work choices as adults.
Working remotely has allowed me to fulfill other responsibilities in life. I don't want that to be taken away.
I was recently approached by an Apple recruiter to apply for a role located in Cupertino. I turned it down because I already have a remote role.
I'm a Google employee with a VP, director, and manager who are supportive of remote work. I moved back to my hometown during the pandemic to care for an immunocompromised parent, and raise my child closer to family (for the first 10 years of my child's life in San Francisco, I had no family to help). Thanks to remote work, I am able to balance work/life priorities as a woman, mother, caretaker, and employee.
Working from home immediately resolved anxiety and bad insomnia that I’ve had for years while working for Apple. I’ve worked with therapists and taken many medications, but none of them compared to the anxiety relief of being able to work from home. Now that we’ve returned to the office, my insomnia is back with a vengeance. I’m looking for other work because the disruption this has caused to my life and health is immense and completely overwhelming.
I also live in a state that will immediately and completely ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. I currently feel completely unsupported by Apple on this front. If allowed to work remotely, many Apple employees would be able to leave states with regressive social policies, and move to more progressive states. This is a huge issue that I would love to see addressed in future letters.
Commuting is a major factor in needing this flexibility. I lose almost three hours a day commuting alone, leaving me with no adequate time to do anything else for my physical and mental well-being. Often times I get so exhausted that I use my sick hours just to rest. I was more productive at home than in the office. It is worth mentioning too that I work with a team that does not do a lot of meetings. We were fully functional and 100% productive from home, and we were still able to communicate and get things done on video conferences when needed. Please listen to us and be reasonable with this unreasonable rigid hybrid model.
It allows me to have a life beyond work. My day is filled with more purpose - and surprisingly better quality work. The office is great for certain times and tasks - but there are days when I go and just sit talking to people through a screen anyway so that is pretty pointless. Plus on those days, my commute and food costs are a complete waste of money for me.
Want to stress on the last point - this is the best opportunity for Apple to lead in taking to market the best WFH products (like collaboration tools etc.) on the current product set...
We sell hybrid working! We've just proven it was more productive for two years during the pandemic, now we go back in time. How can I schedule this with all the calls and external visits? And we just cancelled the 0.19 cent expenses per car milage for commuting, with the current gasoline / electricity increasing costs.
Being able to afford a mortgage and work in tech demands a WFH approach.
Remote is the future 100%
Work from home is best!
The flexibility needs to be on leadership, the diversity needs to be on leadership, the ingenuity needs to be on leadership. If that were to happen the board members need to make apple a employee owned company. The corporate executive team should be rotated out every 5 years. After 5 years they get a seat on the board. Those members of the board will elect the executive team as a unanimous decision. All board members are equal. They hold the same amount of shares. Board members will also stay on for five years. On that note you should appoint Loren Jobs as CEO effective as soon as she accepts if all the board members agree. It’s time she fixes what her husband started & move it into the right direction. Just like when Steve got fired from his own company she was their to help him get it back. She is definitely the 🧠🔌
I worked for a terrific, mission driven, Fortune 100 company, as a Director, Business Management, making 6 figures. I took time off pre-pandemic to take care of family. I had a BTK amputation of my left leg in 2020 and relocated for family support. While I lost my leg, and did not lose my mind, looking for a job has been a struggle. Many jobs that list WFH flexibility imply this is more of a reward, once you have proven yourself. The open letter you sent maybe speaking on behalf of current and former Apple employees but it’s spirit advocates on behalf of people like me in the adaptive community. People with disabilities or people who have dependents with disabilities are optimum hiring pools that are untapped. Thank you for what your doing - ami hope Apple will listen and lead the way!
It would save me some much time since I have to commute every day, also I am way more productive from home, the office environment is very noisy and distractive
Working at the office will have a very bad effect on my performance
In order for me to be effective in my role and support all the regions and teams I support I have always worked from home. Now I cannot because of the political environment that our executives have created.
I'd been performing really well working from home but at the office, I'm afraid my performance will decrease. I would like to be given the option to work full time from home.
I'm at Google and it's EXACTLY the same case here!
Dream of working from different countries
Going to office causes an increase in my carbon footprint.
Many products fail to meet expectations because whomever design them do not use them as the end-user will. Apple should develop new hardware and software solutions to tackle its own concerns related to WFH. I am sure that Apple is not the only company with such concerns, so innovative solutions could work not only for Apple but for others as well.
Society has changed so should company policy standards.
I am a developer from India. Here, just like in the U.S., the cost of living varies hugely by location. The big cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai etc. are really expensive to live in and raise a family. From what I see, these huge expenses don't really translate to a better standard of living. These cities happen to be very polluted, crowded leading to long commutes. The small towns in India don't have many of these disadvantages and they are really catching up (some already ahead of) with the big cities in terms of infrastructure and other amenities. The last 2 years have given ample evidence that software development work can be done from pretty much everywhere with decent Internet. There just isn't a reason for someone to relocate to a big city just because the companies have a big campus there.
I love Apple products and often like their policies. If Apple is inflexible about working from home, I see it as a bad business decision. They will lose the talented engineers who design the APIs I love to use, the talented designers who make the products I create with, and I'd rather that they keep working together to make great things. Whether that's from a home, or an office, or a place that they feel is best to do their creative work
Because it is the new norm, companies which cannot adapt this will melt just like the icebergs in the north pole.
I’m a passionate Apple customer who would benefit from your teams and the products they build reflecting the sensibilities and needs of the current and many future Apple users working from home.
I agree wholeheartedly, coming from a 5 year tenure retail employee. Of course the Is wouldn’t have applied to retail but wow this is ridiculous that this is even an issue. Cmon apple step it up!
The company I work for has mandated 3 days a week using Apple’s 3 day RTO mandate as a template and even compared our <100 employee team to Apple. As progressive as both companies present themselves, this decision comes from an outdated and selfish idea of what the work environment looks like. There are higher ups who have their own offices and have the luxury of closing their doors when the office floor gets too loud. One of the main reasons to RTO 3 days a week was to harbor more community and in-person collaboration yet, the people in their own offices remain taking video calls from their enclosed offices.
First, thank you truly for your leadership on this important issue. All of the reasons brilliantly outlined in your letter are true, sound, and vital, but the environmental impact of needlessly putting tens of thousands of vehicles back on the roads for twice-daily commutes is worth reiterating. Do we care about our planet's continued habitability or not? If as a society we can't even shift our norms in this one, tiny way, then the answer is clearly no. And we should call out the rank hypocrisy of any organization that claims to care about the environment but doesn't allow workers to work remotely.
The future can not be delayed by antiquated ideas. And apple always claimed to be cutting edge. Put your money where your mouth is.
Racial micro aggressions occurs far less during remote work and provide for a better environment mentally for BIPOC employees who don’t see themselves enough in our quite homogeneous work environment!
Hey there. I just wanted to say thank you to all the Apple employee’s who have stood together to put this message out there! Not only does it affect Apple, but every every other company in the world. A lot of workers from lower tier companies don’t really have the voice, sense of unity, or knowhow to deliver this in such a professional way. Other Executive teams will read this, and wonder if they’ll have the same problem. I’m sure that you guys are paving a way for the future.
I would have switched from my current ML role at another FAANG company to Apple if it allowed remote work.
I have done my job remotely for 3 years, and then all of a sudden the requirement for in-office work came out of nowhere. I live an hour away, so I get an unpaid 2 hour round trip to do the EXACT same job as I’d been doing for the previous 3 years, in a more distracting environment.
Apple needs to read the writing on the wall. I don’t want to live in the Bay Area but I also love my work at Apple. I hope I don’t have to choose between the two, a decision my coworkers have already made to the deficit of Apple.
We are people, not robots or slaves for the employers we work for. We get paid to do a job and as long as that job is done we should have access to a flexible work schedule.
Workers will reach out and collaborate when needed, now with flexibility people can be home on the days they need head down time and at the office when they need to meet with someone in person. We are all adults and want to do great work. We can make adult smart decisions without executive micromanagement.
Your surroundings heavily impact the work that you create. If we can work anywhere, with anyone, in any time zone, we evolve the spaces we chose to occupy. As someone who has worked in evolving technology for many years, staring out your window at the side of a building doesn’t really spur the imagination. Some of us would rather find themselves in a forest listening to the trees and the birds chirp when they’re designing, using nature as a way to inspire us and our users. Some of us would love to sit by a lake, breathing in fresh air as the wind blows on by. Some of us want to live in small towns, so we can see how the technology we use every day affects regular people. And then, the company environment still rings in your ears even more presently, because it is now the joy that your new surroundings give you that impassion you into loving your work environment.
But it’s not all utility. Being able to work anywhere means individuals can revel in the success of their work. Traveling abroad and working, exploring unfamiliar cultures, letting work and life blend into something beautiful. That is the evolution of what most of us are experiencing in this new digital culture of work.
And some of us still want to be flown out to see the whole team every now and then. Maybe instead of paying for incredibly expensive facilities, we can share amazing experiences to connect all over the world.
At this point, you probably understand that I have experienced the full monty of freedoms that remote life has to offer. Because of this knowledge, I know how important it is to the creative process. This is why I urge Apple to reconsider their stance on hybrid work to a freedom of choice.
But it does not matter what I think. If Apple has chosen to ground itself in mandatory hybrid work, it’s already too late. It will have already signalled to an evolving workforce that it is not the pinnacle of modern, forward thinking workspaces. That it is comfortable being a relic of the past, reinforcing hierarchical office structures for the benefit for a few up top, and immediately ruining the impression that it’s top dog in the industry.
I’d also like to mention that, in the past two and a half years, Apple has released some of the best products in decades and had some of the best financial years of it’s history. I would assume there is a clear correlation between the passion of your employees and remote work, and the value of that would somewhat supercede the desire of a couple of managers to force everyone back into the office. It would be utter stupidity to consider anything less than freedom for your employees.
I loved working with my team. I had to move away for personal reasons and even couple of levels of management above me wanted me to stay on the team remotely . But the executive decision meant I had to resign from a team that loved me and one I loved, and not working anymore on the things we love.
Commuting is the single biggest mental health drain I experience. Not deadlines, not complexity, not work volume, not high expectations, not finance breathing down my neck…commuting. There is nothing that hurts more than literally wasting 2+ hours commuting. WFH made the opportunity cost of those hours painfully obvious. We are grown professionals, let us figure this out.
I worked night shift for over five years alone in AppleCare. I switched to days during the pandemic and have become more productive. My boss and half of my team work remotely. Sitting in the office doing video chats is really stupid. Nothing about my job changes at all except becoming an inconvenience.
As a person neurodivergent individual, I find it highly disruptive to work in an office environment. The last 2 years have been a major boon for my productivity, health, and mental well-being. I don't want to ever go back to 2019 “normal”
I worked at Apple for ten years, and I left the company the week before we returned to office. I have high risk conditions for COVID. The company’s COVID safety protocols were, honestly, lazy. Definitely not up to the standard that the company portrays to the outside world. No masks or vaccines required, and the only “precaution” was an online checklist asking if you’ve tested yourself, that anyone could lie on. Supposedly the company offers accommodations for high risk employees but my manager and I tried to find out how to request them for nearly a month and couldn’t get an answer. It was the final straw for me, and I left the company. For a company that talks so much about diversity, it’s disappointing to see Apple leaving employees with medical conditions completely out of the return to office discussion.
I’m in a Retail role that can be done remotely. I also have ADHD. Even with treatment, it is so difficult to be productive in the store environment. Working remotely during the pandemic, I was a powerhouse. Being in control of my work environment was a game changer for my productivity and mental health. I am an adult. I am self-aware. I know when I’m at my best and when I am struggling to keep my head above water. Trying to balance my workload, commute time, family commitments, pets, home maintenance, and time to take care of myself has me feeling constantly behind in all of these areas. This has led to stress, anxiety, and burnout. I’m not actively looking for a new job because I simply don’t have the energy, but that is not a good reason to be staying.
I'm one of many employees who have been asked to leave on 5/23 (beginning of the 3 day pilot). The reason is that I’m unable to work in person bc I moved away. I’ve shown up for a decade giving Apple everything I had. I’ve received promotions, raises, accolades, and praises. I was there remotely every single day providing my very best as I always have. They’ve already hired my replacement, and my feedback about how this has made me feel has almost been a joke to them. I’m taking my experience, intelligence, drive, devotion & tribal knowledge to a place where it can be appreciated and not taken for granted. It wasn’t always this way. I hope Apple can find their way back somehow. I won’t be there to see it though.
I've never been comfortable with the way tech companies have transformed the Bay Area and other places, driving unsustainable housing costs by requiring all employees live close to the office even if their work doesn't require it. We have an opportunity to start to repair this situation, and truly optimize the resources we share with the rest of the community, but will ultimately be limited by corporate policy.
Location-flexible work is important since many of us have to meet/coordinate with teams on opposite ends of the globe. In addition, location-flexible work allows us to save money on commuting, whether taking public transit or investing in a new vehicle; gone are the days of being later for meetings or hustling to get parking in time to make it to the office. It is also safer to work from home and a great option when feeling ill, considering that COVID is still running rampant. Bottom line, our work forces in the technology sector cannot deliver the latest and greatest or work productively if they are sick or burnt out.
Our office has used this exact argument for “more collaboration” as a reason to go back to office full time. We are all adults and America is ready for a WFH revolution in 2022. I hope you are all successful with this petition.
I've been so impressed with my team's ability to do great work remotely over the last two years. We've proven that we don't need to gather in an office to be at our most productive. Being able to work from home rather than commuting to an office has given me more time to spend with loved ones and pursue pastimes that make my life feel meaningful. And even more than that, having the option to work from home makes me feel trusted and respected as an employee.
I work at Meta and our flexible work schedule helps me focus more on my work. Cutting out my 3 hour total commute to Menlo Park has made me and my team more efficient, happier, and productive — A design manager at Meta
Not an Apple employee, But still the point raised makes sense. Flexible work options should be a thing especially for those who can do it.
I joined a new company during COVID and was hired fully remote. It has completely changed my life. I used to commute 2hrs a day in traffic to get to downtown Los Angeles and now I live all over the country, traveling every few months to a new spot and working wherever I choose. My company is extremely flexible on where I am and I plan to stay here for the long haul. I work for a large retailer that brings in over $4 billion in revenue. Any size company can offer a flexible, remote work structure and be successful.
Office is an obsolete idea, people in eu are quitting jobs over this, I did!
Without a legitimate reason that the company will benefit from having people in offices in person, requiring them to be there will only create further resentment. If supervisors feel employees are only productive when in the presence of a supervisor, then the supervisor needs better training on supervising.
Parents can be closer to children, pets don't feel separation anxiety and there's trust and respect towards letting employees feeling autonomous in work
Remote is lifechanging on so many axes, it is unbelievable. I recommend a counterproposal strategy to Apple execs in this letter featuring a planned cadence of in-person team meetups where spontaneity can be intentionally crafted.
A well written statement, shared by millions of workers.
I am a loyal Apple customer. I believe the people who design, sell, and make my products should have the power to decide where and how they work. Their value and productivity have gone up during the past two years of remote work, so there is no reason that that should not continue. “Serendipity” is not a convincing or equitable argument.
Currently interviewing for a role at Apple. This pilot will stop me from accepting that role.
I could have — and afford that would keep me active during the day. I would avoid a commute, I can focus better at home and be more comfortable. I can get more things done during the week, whether it's upkeep on my home that badly needs it, or helping to take care of my father with Parkinson's. I also still live in San Francisco, so could freely arrange times to be in the office and meet people, and easily have the best of both worlds, not a non-sensical forced-“best” of both worlds. A rigid hybrid doesn't give any flexibility. For example, I've got a doctors appointment and errand in the city that need to be done on a Thursday. Thanks for nothing, “hybrid”.
I think this a great initiative that is being taken by people at Apple to finally talk some sense to the management about return to office policies. There is no valid reason to ask someone to come to office when the same work was done from absolutely and wonderfully in the last two years ( which is my case and why it is important to me) . If the real estate investment into office space is the cause, they can probably write it off over years for tax breaks and put it as contribution towards being carbon neutral ( less cars, less energy for offices etc) . Hope you guys win in talking some sense to the management team.
The work that I specifically do does not require me to be in-office at all. In addition, my position is an Individual Contributor (IC) role and collaboration can be done easily through a video call/Slack. Commuting to office simply wastes my time (waking up early to get ready for work), money (to pay for the ludicrously expensive gas that I am not being re-compensated for), and sanity as I have to sludge through traffic every morning & evening. I've worked on 2 Apple projects so far and my first one was fully remote; My team had no issue working from home and we consistently met deadlines and high quality standards for our work. RTO is simply a sham meant for upper management to maintain control over their employees' lives.
If this pandemic has taught us anything is that humans are so resilient that we can adapt even to an environment in which our most humane trait, what brought us where we are now, our social behavior, is pushed to its limits.
With our current technology, we don’t have to be next to each other and definitely not supervised in order to do our jobs. As long as you have an internet connection, people should be allowed to work from anywhere, anytime. Its 2022, we should realize the benefits of globalization, and leave behind obsolete, decades old corporate rules that don’t fit with the present times.
I’m with you Apple employees, I hope you succeed in having your message heard and you get the WFH ethic you deserve. 🙏
(Because your company has such a big impact on our tech world, your success is our success as well. :) )
Not all of the teams need to be back in office. Teams such as mine only deal with software-related work everything can be done from the comfort of my own home. I am okay with RTO only 1 day of the week but 3 days is too much considering also the high cost of gas.
Apple used to say that 'our most important resource, our soul, is our people.' What happened to that?
When work is contingent on your physical presence rather than your actual output/productivity, especially when it is not relevant to the work, it becomes a function of excessive control by management, not a way to improve the work itself.
With Russian war of aggression gas prices are raising. With climate change our environmental security is in danger. The solution to both these issues is to reduce commutes and fossil fuel dependency. Please be a leader in the remote work revolution save humanity.
It just makes sense, we need to lead on this and become a role model for the world! (not the opposite)
There are three additional hours added to my day now because we need to collaborate. My entire team is in Austin. I come to Cupertino to sit at an open desk and attend WebEx calls.
The energy and time spent commuting could and should be spent on the work, my internet at home is better than the office which also makes for better productivity, and not having to be in an office full of people passing by every which way, chatting about one thing or the other, where the temperature is always a bit too warm or too cold, would also leave me with more energy for the work itself. I'm not at all opposed to coming in a day or two per week for in-person meetings and meals with colleagues, but there is legitimately no reason at all to insist on it being all office all the time when the work has been done successfully from home for years now. We have been told to trust the decisions of the higher ups - no matter how counter-productive and removed from reality they might seem - but they have shown no trust in us at any stage to do the work. Timing and surveilling us and moving us into more exhausting work spaces simply to keep us on a tight leash, and never once indicating that anyone listened to any of our feedback is the primary reason everyone else on my team eventually leaves, meaning new people have to be brought in and trained, over and over, when small changes to make things more flexible would be enough to keep people doing the work better for longer.
Other than all the reason already listed, for a greener future it's better not to travel than buying an electric car. Office Travel makes-up for most rides within Cities
You tick all the right boxes with your arguments to WfH and work in an office, it is the exact same situation in our company (Netherlands).
This is a watershed moment for the post-Steve Apple. Mark my words. The decisions today will determine if Apple will be seen as innovators in this bold new world we are entering, or will fade into obscurity in the new economy. Open your minds, Apple. It’s what you’ve been best at, historically.
I've just proven over the past two years I can do my job remote.
Apple need to walk the walk. Their benefits and HR for current and retired employees are pretty poor.
Most of my meetings and interactions are with people from other offices anyway. I do believe 1 or 2 days a week to do in office face to face team building is useful though. It should not be forced but should be incentivized
I’m a high performer in a corporate (product operations) role. WFH allows me to care for my special needs family member while delivering for the company and our customers. RTO has actively had me looking for other opportunities.
I have a 2 hour commute and start at 5am no flexibility was offered. My wife is at high risk and our children are now homeschooled placing a larger burden on my family.
I work for multinational team and multi timezone and wfh was winwin situation. I gave the work much more. And got some flexibility in return. Returning to attending online meetings from a desk away 1hr is just unjustified. And the 3-2 plan isn’t flexible or efficient rather than calling it “pilot”. I am not looking around now but if i get another offer with more flexibility, i would be idiot not to consider
I’m so glad to see that this is Is such a broadly viewed issue, and it has showed me that I’m not alone. I have very real familial concerns, including a child with severe health issues that I can not put at risk by returning with no exceptions or openness for alternatives. The only way an exception is being offered is by jumping through numerous hurdles, including putting in a medical request with Apple’s third-party accommodation vendor, and then, if it even gets considered there, you then have to get a medical note from your child’s pediatrician, which they’re usually not open to giving accommodation prescriptions for non-patients (I’m not the patient, my child is). Apple has known about my particular scenario for years (more than half a decade), yet now all of that is moot because I need to return to working in an enclosed environment for whatever possible reason they have, where the promise of my and my family’s health was made. I could go on, but this is just a comment to notate my story, but it seems now that I’m not alone, and stand behind this grievance with you all, ten-fold.
I am absolutely convinced that in-person meetings are necessary for the success of this company. It is also crucial for the future of this company to break with rules no one can relate to. This is about democratizing work and leading with example. If you advocate “choice” to your customers then you have to give that choice your employees too.
Fundamentally, Apple needs to get better at measuring output instead of trying to control the input.
It allows folks to do work that requires concentration and less interruptions. It saves commute time / mental energy for what truly matters
Our small global team works async remote with planning meeting on Friday and 2 stand ups Monday and Wednesday with status and team blockers. When you hire amazing talent in an atmosphere of psychological safety, creativity takes over and innovation happens.
I believe Hybrid working is the future and all Org should support the same balancing both work culture/collaboration and human touch along with work-life balance with family
I spend close to 5 hours commuting to Apple due to personal reasons that prevent an alternate solution. Flexible WFH for my situation is self-explanatory. I would rather spend even a portion of that time working more from home for Apple than wasting it traveling and increasing my carbon footprint on Mother Earth
My team members are located in different offices. Sister teams are also distributed. We use webex for all meetings anyways. Why enforce RTO for everyone even if it reduces productivity?
I do value face-to-face communication and collaboration. But most of the time my work can be done remotely and I have a young child. I am currently going in the office once a week and want to keep it this way. I maintain higher productivity when I am not stressed about commuting (1.5-2 hrs one way). Also, whoever can work remotely should continue to do so for our environment.
I’m autistic, ADHD and have chronic illnesses. Working remotely is a necessity in order for me to work at my best
I was very close to apply to Apple from another large tech company, until I heard more about the policies their executive team is implementing.
I love being in the office to collaborate and meet teammates face to face, but M TU TH is too much. Tuesday and Thursday is the max we should do. Tuesday alone is perfect.
Lately apple products have gone downhill due in fact of this excessive need of parenting. Also the high cost of living near apple makes me worry more about how I’m going to make payments versus being creative. When I worked remotely I didn’t have this worry. Also Apple is supposed to be conscious about the environment how is making your employees come into work making this possible.
I moved to another country only to work for Apple and so, it would be amazing to be able to work remotely closer to my family sometimes without the “exception” pressure.
The value of flexibility and self-determination are crucial. Treating employees like adults would go a long way - employees who feel heard and trusted are proven to be much more productive. This would also go a very long way in reducing the ongoing talent bleed Apple is currently experiencing, which could very well result in near to long term profit loss from turnover.
Work location-flexibility provides people the option to be and do their best work while also fulfilling Apple’s credo of,
“We give more than we take.
From the planet,”
as work from home reduces unnecessary energy consumption and opens up more time (gift of time) for workers to be with home family.
Flexibility, time & productivity, commute. This letter speaks the exact same sentiments I carry in my everyday, now. My workflow has expanded during the pandemic, and has immediate requirements for conducting workflow not suitable for a desk (let alone our future bench seats at the new Austin campus). I'm 50 years old. I know my impact, and I do what's needed to do my job effectively - any slack on my part would immediately be noticed by my leadership. Let's not miss mention of my having lost FOUR colleagues who supported my workflow who have left the company or are re-tasked to 'shinier' projects... leaving me to pick up the bandwidth pieces. I'm drowning in workflow, and I've been directly told by my manager that there's no support on the horizon. Get out of my way, empower me, enable me to do my life's best work. Lest, I have to find a more supportive environment to do so.
I work as at home advisor (AHA) since 2018. A dream came true since I do not live or intend to live close to an office. It was already hard for career growth from the beginning, but not impossible. But now, a relocation package is offered, and now for sure, I feel my job is in jeopardy. I always felt safe, having a job security, but now... unsure what will happen.
For many years, I was one of the remote team members at my (non apple) employer (hardware design). I am at one company site, but the vast majority of my colleagues at at other sites. So, remote work has been beneficial to me as there were *fewer* of those informal hallway meetings to which I was not invited. Combining #1 and #2 of your letter, for remote people, those informal meetings are detrimental to our productivity....
Health/well-being, sustainability, diversity, and freedom
At our company, the same “leadership” team that requests assistant to come to NYC office 4 times a week are the ones that never ever show up. Basically, the boomers saying we need to come to the office for the “camaraderie” but they are working from the comfort of their home in Florida. Can't wait for Gen Z to take over and for the boomers to finally retire.
If Apple truly believed a one size fits all solution was best, then we'd sell exactly one size and colour of product, we'd have unisex changing rooms and toilets, we'd have one pay rate, and one size of t-shirt. But we don't; we appreciate that our people and our customers are different with different needs. So why is that actual sane thinking not applied to our flexibility?
Amazing text summarising all the most important points of knowledge workers after the pandemic (or before the next one!). Deciding when to work from the office increases work-life balance and in turn my output and commitment. I considered working for Apple in the past but with this policy in place I am not sure I will even try. Better wait and see! Good luck to the rest Apple employees! They are doing a great job!
For me, flexible work is important to save traveling hours and utilise that for spending time nature.
For all the reasons you outlined already.
It takes 2 hrs for me to reach office, since 4 years it has been the most boring 2 hrs of my life. But pandemic crushed this mindset. Now, I spent those 2 hrs — seeing my toddler trying to argue/speak with me, my also working wife enjoying cooking us homemade food. I used to think these were trivial, but not anymore. These are the only two people in my life, for whom I wake up everyday to do my job at Apple. Now the idea of returning to office makes me choose my family over anything else, I want to work for a company that understands this.
I am pretty sure that many of employees also have invested a lot in WFH setup that cannot be provided by company in the office. E.g. bigger screens, rising desks etc
There are so many things to deal with in a daily life. Working is not the only nor the most important one all the time. Prioritize them personally can be efficient and benefit the company.
Because it shows company’s respect and trust towards every employee’s different life style
I am a single mother of three now forced back into commuting 3+ hours a day. On a single income, even as generous as Apple’s are, I cannot afford to move closer as rents have skyrocketed. Being able to work 100% remotely enabled me to be both a better employee and mother. Now I’m more exhausted, and both are suffering. Thank you for doing this, for all of us, the silent majority.
For one, the environment. Having so many cars on the road, even three days a week, is so detrimental to the planet. Two, for mental health. Commuting is a horrible way to spend time, twice a day. It's really been difficult on my mental health. Three, I can do 95% of my job at home, I have even excelled doing so, mandatorily telling people 3x days/week is not really fair. I could go one, but thats the big three.
There’s no one-size fits all answer. Having flexibility based on team and personal situations creates a truly beneficial working experience.
I have worked for AppleCare as an At Home Advisor for over 7 years and have always had the ability for promotion with no issues. Now that they are requiring everyone to be onsite they have also enforced a no promotion policy for people that work from home 100%. You are required to relocate to an onsite location if you want any career growth. It’s so sad that they are forcing dedicated employees like myself to now look for employment elsewhere so I’m not stuck with goalless work or opportunities to grow with the company.
Location flexible work is imperative to caregivers! With more women leaving the workforce more than ever before, this should have been obvious to such “smart” executives. Who cared for your loved ones during the pandemic?
Couldn’t agree more with all six points in this letter. I used to work for Apple when they were first piloting the “At Home Advisors” for AppleCare. I was recruited at my college campus and loved how flexible it was with my college schedule. Fast forward to after graduation, I get a different job that is full-time in the office. Then the pandemic and switch to 100% remote overnight. I quickly found myself reflecting back on my time at Apple and how grateful I was for such a flexible job and work schedule. I don’t think I ever want to return 100% back in an office. I love being able to pick what works best for me and let my performance dictate to management if working remotely is worthwhile.
It's a shame that one of the most innovative companies in the world is so backwards. And what I really dont like is that the managers who want to have the employees in an office have their own single office and normally dont know what open space offices mean for focused work.
My Fortune 500 company forced us back to the office last year. I, like so many others, moved to another city during COVID. There was a company satellite office there which I was now mandated to return to. When I went in, I spoke to NO ONE. I put on heels, walked down long corridors to go to the bathroom, hid in conference rooms for Zoom calls since no colleagues lived in my city, and did the exact same thing I did at home... only worse. Worse yet, my dog had to be boarded ($30) and I had to pay for parking downtown ($20). It cost me $50 per day, not including gas, to do worse work. This is why I left and now work for a different Fortune 500 company that cares about their employees' lives. Until Apple changes course, they're only feigning care for their workers. Get with the future of work or lose your incredible talent for cutting-edge tech companies who already did.
I left my previous employer when they announced I had to be there for 3 days a week.
The letter says it all, we all did our bit during the last 2 years, now it's the executive class's turn to do theirs
I work for a formerly SF-based tech company who recently closed all US offices so that employees may work remotely from wherever they wish. This is a significant benefit for my life and has allowed me to purchase a home in a city that I love and support my wife and child. I can take on most of the share of housework, childcare, and more. I'm a strong individual contributor in my company and appreciate the flexibility my company offers me and believe that Apple should do the same.
Save time and money on commute, eating out and feeling exhausted. I can avoid traffics, rest, eat at home, do laundry, decompress and workout when I work from home. Living in Bay Area is also too expensive. Being paid 100K is still not enough :((((
You are good people , doing s bloody good job . You deserve trust and nurturing. Once given you will be an unstoppable army for them . They should pay better too.
As another tech worker, working from home over the pandemic has greatly increased my quality of life—being able to spend more time with family, ability to do household upkeep, and general peace of mind during a pandemic. Additionally, as a neuroatypical person, it leaves me more energy to focus on my work rather than on the distractions that come with a commute.
I worked in Apple Retail from 2011-2015. During that time, my store was renovated to the newest (at that time) standards. In the renovated store, I started having panic attacks nearly every shift. I did not realize it at the time, but I had sensory issues, which were exacerbated by the tall ceilings, stainless steel walls, and unwelcoming environmental factors. I did not have an alternative to working in person in the store: I would either need to apply to a different store (too far), an online position (rigorous interviews), or leave the company. If I had had the option to move to remote retail, I would have been able to stay at Apple (which I wanted!) and continue contributing to the team. Let your people choose what's best for them - they are your most important resource, right?
There was a song released by The Stylistics titled People Make the World Go Round and it began to play in my head while I was reading this 'open letter.' Good work -- [...]
Location flexible work is the future and is absolutely necessary for all the reasons mentioned in this letter. I have gone from a fully remote position to a 2 days in the office hybrid position that makes no sense, particularly since the office is open plan and is a 45 min-1 hour drive from my home. I plan on speaking to my supervisor about this as soon as is comfortable, since I’ve only been at the job for 2 months at this point. I will start looking for fully remote jobs if my supervisor refuses to make the position fully remote once I make the request.
I can recognize and decide better about what helps my productivity
An irony that should not be lost is that Apple has either singlehandedly created or been one of the largest contributors to the world's most-used products, systems and processes that allow people around the globe to successfully work remotely.
I currently work at Apple Retail and a Genius Admin. The work that I do does benefit from working in-store but I some of the people I work with could do their jobs from home. For example, I don’t see any reason why team members who manage our work schedules or business team members are forced to work in-store.
I am a disabled ex employee of Apple. Previously I was wanting to pursue further opportunities to return to Apple but I would now rule this out based on the in-flexible office based working requirement.
I can perfectly resonate with what the letter is saying especially the commute and serendpity part. If employers want us to be in the office even for 2 days they should certainly pay us extra from the time we leave our place and commute to our work location. Moreover, I don't want to go to the office to be on video calls all day long and realize that I could have done this at home. Once a week is fine but even that is something that the employee should get to decide and work with their manager.
Remote work changed my life and career for the better. I fully support Apple employees in their fight to keep this new workplace perk.
Because talent is globally distributed, and for the first-time in history, it has become possible for the best organizations to reach out to that incredibly diverse talent, and for such talent to contribute their work in the most meaningful way -remotely, beyond the human-created boundaries of nations, wealth differences, race discriminations, gender inequalities.
I seriously hope a trillion dollar company doesn't make the same mistakes as the dinosaurs of the past. Be the change you wish to see in the world. I am all for supporting the employees who would like to work hybrid or remote on their own terms than that of the organisation's one size fits all solution. Let's hope that the Big Tech can put their money where the mouth is.
As you tell on the letter, work-life balance is very important. Encourage the people to have the opportunity to work whenever you want to is the best approach now in XXI century. Companies like Spotify or Airbnb are winning employees because they trust their employees and they seek for knowledge in another places/countries.
I don't see myself back into an office, unless is a special event that bonds the team.
The diversity/accessibility issue alone is grounds for a lawsuit. Remote work is about equality and allowing EVERYONE to do the best, most efficient work of their life. That should be a right, not a privilege.
I really wish the corporate side of Apple would rally and collaborate more with the retail side. I was coerced back into the store with the promise of express storefront to keep me safe only to have it taken away a week after I committed and returned. Retail stores have no protection, and it often feels like most of my appointments are a waste of time. I felt more effective working remote.
Most of my business partners are across the country and world. I am driving a nasty commute to sit in a cube where I have no privacy, to do a Webex with them. A Webex in which I could easily save my time, money, and life energy by doing it at home where I can speak and work without distractions. Apple has made it possible for so many companies to work remotely and yet they are chaining employees to their desks? I am truly curious how Apple genuinely believes they can keep moving forward with this ancient policy given the talent wars right now. Workers have a choice and the majority will not choose this.
Please don't forget the climate change aspect. Remote work saves the environment and limits emissions. apple pretends to care about climate but clearly does not.
I'm mother to 2 young children. I find working from office a drain on my productivity unless there are concrete agendas which need to be discussed in person. I hate hate hate commute - it takes a lot of joy out of my life
We proved we are better working from home, we got better results than ever, we were resilient and did our best, its your turn to return that.
Some of us are stuck in an old house without possibility to improve living conditions due to lack of housing. It would change lives, we could find better places, better conditions, improve our quality life, for so little as flexibility.
Apple will learn the hard way after losing the most talented individuals in today's workforce. They may be the leader in technology, but they are in last place for employee satisfaction in 2022.
Apple has committed to be a carbon neutral company in 2030. Flexibility in workspace should be the first step to take to reduce emissions.
I’ve been “AHA” for YEARS… I support it. Agree with it. Love it. BUT… the downfall… despite it never being an issue in the past is being told because I’m at home… there will be no promotional opportunities in the foreseeable future unless I move somewhere where I can be onsite. So because that is not an option for myself and many others, there is no growth. If we don’t move or leave for another company… we are stuck. Trapped. Feels like we are being discriminated against due to our location despite being hired to work from home.
I can get two days’ worth of work done in a single remote workday. In the office, I’m far less focused. Remote work changed the game for me by giving me autonomy over my own productivity.
This is a symptom of a much greater problem. Tim Cook and his executive have not and continually refuse to listen to their workforce. Grand Central and Cumberland Mall were the start and if they don’t actually try to listen to us then it’s only going to grow day-by-day
Working at Apple would have been a no-brainer in the last decade. Even if you offered me double my current salary, I wouldn't even consider Apple if they did not offer remote. Currently, a director of marketing in SaaS. Nobody cares about some spaceship office any more.
I am shocked that the large tech company I work for has not released a RTO plan...I am hoping this means that they are reading the room and will foster a diverse work environment. Personally, I want to attend the office most days, and I can, it's great. I will look for remote work if they announce a mandatory return....which will kind of suck bc so will a ton of others haha. I am proud of Apple employees for their thoughtful response. It not only helps Apple employees, but all employees who are lucky enough to not have to spend 1-5 hours commuting daily. That point alone should initiate a soul in leadership! Thank you!
I live in SF. Apple Park sucks as a place to do actual work. I hate every minute of being in the office.
I work in HR for another company and think managers should have some discretion in the flexibility they can provide to their teams.
I left Apple in Jan 2022 in part because I wanted the flexibility to work from home when I wanted. My new company requires just one day in-person--Mondays--and they are meant to be times to bond with and get to know our teams and co-workers. I love this new model and am much, much happier.
Ways of working will change and adapt to this flexibility. We will need to keep up.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s fair that the working people keeping the world afloat have to make this issue about enhancing a company’s profit margins and work flow.
Do you know how much more work you do than your elders did at your age?? How much more you get done in a fraction of the time??? Seriously, do not just discount this like it’s the way the world works. You are working circles around everyone making the decision to force you back into the office compared to what they did before all this technology existed that created this increase in productivity. And look what they are doing to it: withholding it from us, the creators and maintainers of it all, because they “feel” like you should be in the office.
I can’t count how many times have I heard an executive say “I can’t wait to see your smiling faces back in these seats” when the only time we see their face is when they’re walking into the office from their special parking spot to get to their exclusive floor and secluded office.
We do not owe any boss an explanation for our demands at work. If there is a possibility of remote work (barring financial/tech limitations), the choice needs to be placed in the hands of the workers. We run the show. We keep the ship afloat. It’s time to stop playing around and finally take back our dignity as workers.
I left my job in March (in Joz's org) for a remote role-- was an amazing decision that I don't regret at all and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I work at Citi, and this open letter is relevant to every large company with multiple locations. I am happy to commute in if there is a planned event that brings us all together (training, strategy session, etc.) but I will not commute in and sacrifice time with my family just to join Zoom calls from the office. If my company forced RTO, I would continue working remotely while searching for a new opportunity.
I left Apple because of their inflexibility around work from home. Covid research has shown, the only people who want to return to the office are mostly straight, white men. If this is indeed the culture Apple wants, then please knock it off with all the diversity and inclusion talk.
Over the last two years, we have all found ways to continue to serve our customers and ensure we deliver best in class experiences despite a pandemic that crushed our world. While my friends and family stayed home and made sourdough bread, I went home and worked harder and longer to ensure we had people in place to help our customers. We made it work! Now you are telling me and my teams we have to be in the office to be effective? You lose my focus, my time (spent commuting), my passion by forcing me into this new hybrid workplace policy. Please reward my and my colleagues great performance by treating us with the respect and fairness we deserve. Thank you.
Remote work is important for neuro-divergent people and those with sensory issues. Please consider us in your decisions!!
I am able to get more done; I'm able to have a better work/life balance. I am sad that I don't run into co-workers as often, but occasional in-office visits would solve this problem (and they wouldn't be required to happen as often as three days per week!).
Less pollution, saves employees money and health. Promotes working with other remote workers more than an in-person focus
This letter perfectly explained all the jumbled disconnected thoughts in my head since my company required us to return to the office 3 days a week. From the inefficiency of my work to the waste of resources (gas is expensive and my commute is back for the environment) and being treated like a school kid again. We need large corporations to listen to their employees and find a way to work with us, or the great resignation will continue and grow. I am tired and I want to be able to do my work in the way that works best for me and my team. Thank you Apple employees for putting it on paper and telling the world how it is and how is shouldn’t be.
The people working from home are consistently more relaxed and productive. This is a positive for Apple AND its employees. Let employees decide where to work from.
All the points mentioned in your letter are 100% true. I have never been able to work on such a high concentration level than during time in home office. Days are much more structured and have much less disruption. Beside this, as a green company it should be as well our goal to not emit useless CO2, just to get to the office and then back home.
This is a great letter I strongly support. I do work in Apple business retail and calling customers from home is so much more productive then within an office with plenty other phonecalling colleagues - thank you for your effort - Apple is for the people!
Transparency benefits both employer and employee. Hire adults and then treat them like adults. We all know this: Demands from executives to return to the office is justification for pouring millions of dollars into office space.
you are freer and can develop more, you can balance your professional and private life better. this makes you more motivated and more efficient for your company and your family.
Happy engineers == great products
I have been at Apple for 8 years in a field based sales role and was always told when not traveling, to work where it made sense to. Now, I am being told to be in the office 3 days a week. When I took the role at apple I chose to move where it made sense for me to do so, and now I have a 2 hour commute. I am leaving Apple over this, sadly.
I was once a true believer when it came to Apple, its products and general mission statement. However, over the years many of the products seem to have moved away from the freedom and creativity they claimed to encourage, instead locking customers into products that cannot be adapted or upgraded leading to forced planned obsolescence. It's extremely disheartening to see a similar approach being taken with its employees; people who were no doubt hired for their creativity, being forced to conform to stifling conditions. Do better, Apple. I'd love to believe again.
I don't want to travel 3 days a week for doing things that I can do while I am at home. Infact, I feel that I am more productive when I am in my own space. Open policy workplace is just adding fuel to fire because it heavily makes me distracted at every instance. Commute is a big problem for me. I feel drained by the 2nd day when I am in the offices. It is mentally draining and infuriating to see this mandatory back-to-office policy. I am planning to switch to a new workplace soon because of such a useless policy.
Fully support this excellent summary of the benefits of flexibility. Thank you for speaking out. You can lead the industry. Others will have to listen.
At my company after nearly two decades of double digit percentage growth we had our first year of missing targets the year before lockdowns started. During lockdown despite restricted trading for several months we went on to set several company records while everyone was working from home. Our leadership praised us as a company. I was personally told my performance had never been better. I worked harder than I ever had, but I felt more rested than I ever had too. I had a good job, it literally became a perfect job.
I enjoy my colleagues, I believe there is value in face to face. But I don’t need this everyday. No one does. After tasting perfection, working on a hybrid model is crushing. I waste so much time just getting ready for work, instead of getting straight to it. I arrive tired after a boring commute, instead of having a super productive first hour of work. I talk to colleagues to rebuild up the energy I didn’t need to lose. But the time I start 2 productive hours are gone. When my day ended, my rest used to start immediately, now I need to pack up, travel, pack down, change unwind from the travel, maybe shower again depending on the day. My rest is delayed by at least an hour. All just to meaningless be in an office just because. It’s no wonder we are now coming in under target again. People are tired.
Aside from that the lack of travelling also served as a nice little salary bump for many employees. It just seems so senseless to throw away all the advantages. So many companies seem to be willing to do that. I would have thought Apple would be world leaders in pushing apst these traditional barriers. In any case, much of my job is the same, I love the stability of this company, but I find myself looking for new opportunities because I was flourishing while WFH. Both at my job and at my life. Perfect work/life balance was at my finger tips the whole time and I just didn’t know the office itself was the obstacle.
I can buy a house in a more affordable area than be stuck renting
Being at the office is costing my family more than it is right of me to ask them, they deserve better and I can't keep doing this to them.
With the current arrangement, I have to commute 3 hours every day I’m in the office, where I end up having 1 standup meeting where half the team is on webex because they’re based in NY. I don’t like losing this productive time, but I’m also not willing to give up an extra 3 hours of my personal life instead
I spent over 10 years commuting 45 minutes to work every day because like many of us I couldn’t afford to live in the same city my company was in. This meant over 100k miles on my vehicle in less than 3 years. I also lost two hours of my life daily dealing with heavy dangerous traffic that nearly took my life on two occasions. I have absolutely nothing to gain and only stand to be inconvenienced by going back to the office.
That’s not even to mention the cost of extra day care hours for children, getting sick from co-workers who won’t stay home when they’re sick and the list goes on and on.
I spent 20 years at Apple and never planned to leave. I left due to lack of remote opportunities.
the future of work is results oriented and not based on unnecessary commutes. Those who remain flexible will remain and survive because talent will migrate there
Having the autonomy to decide where and how I work has a direct correlation on the impact I have on my team and the work that I produce. Because I am trusted to make the best decision to know when I need to collaborate in person and when I need to work from home I am happier and often find myself working longer because I enjoy the work that I do. In the past, I was too exhausted from the commute that there was no way I would consider extra effort. Imagine the talent that could be attracted if there wasn't such a strict policy. People crave flexibility and remote work is here to stay whether you let your employees choose or not.
I get more work done by working from home.
Do it for the children! Well, really, work from home it's awesome and great for the enviroment.
I was hired during the pandemic and have been WFH for most of my time with Apple. I onboarded remotely. I led initiatives remotely. I built amazing new tools and demoed them to my org remotely. None of this was new to me as I’ve worked fully-remote for most of the last decade.
The RTO pilot, in how it has been communicated and implemented, has very much soured my experience at Apple. My team is distributed geographically so I’m still working on Slack and WebEx, but in a loud, hot and stuffy office. Each day I visit the office I get a COVID exposure notice. Needless to say my productivity has declined since the RTO pilot began.
The environment inside Apple takes the joy away from me, that I would otherwise be putting into my work & sharing with my colleagues. The joy that I’ve been able to cultivate in my first year WFH with Apple. Give us flexibility in how we RTO and we can keep that joy alive.
This is not exactly what you are asking for, but I wanted to point out yet another fallacy with the hybrid working policy. Now that Apple has opened up development facilities around the US and around the world and has put a cap on employment in Cupertino, many teams are split apart and collaborators do not meet each other even when they come into the office.
By forcing people to come to offices, you are in a way shooting yourselves in foot because you get
- reduced working/productive hours per employee , and
- demotivated /disgruntled employees
I am a caregiver and it is vital that I remain healthy for my family. I’m also much more productive at work and at home because I don’t have to commute. I’m positive we only got our last two projects done because we had more time to focus on the work itself.
We’ve shown that our jobs can be successfully completed regardless of location. In my case, as a payroll manager for a restaurant chain, there is no other option. If the job doesn’t get done, we will have very unhappy employees. I fully support the employees who are asking for flexibility.
Working from home for the last two years has enabled me to be a better employee. I'm able to get more work done, better work, more thoughtful work. I have time to think, to management the amount of work I have. Without the demands (emotionally, physically, and physiologically) of a long and stressful commute, I can start work earlier and end work later (which is ok!). Without people lining up at my desk at the office (this happens 50% of my workday in the office) I am able to respond to people in a timely manner while being able to finish a thought and/or task - which is difficult in the office setting. I am able to finish projects, think ahead, and am happier overall having the flexibility to eat food I have prepared at home and be in my own peaceful environment. Having social anxiety is challenging when forced to socialize with others on someone else's terms. Overall, I enjoy Apple as a company when I have the flexibility to come into the office when I need to vs have to for no reason except to see other people (and then get emails saying someone in my building has Covid).
I was a director at Apple and left my job primarily because of the inflexible Return to Office policy. I am confident that the RTO policy made my team less productive
The notion of geographic diversity is spot on. As the world grows with itself, it’s becoming increasingly naive to think that talented minds can be bound to specific attributes about a person; especially where they are willing to live and what they are willing to give up.
Historically, Apple as a company has been heavily associated with innovation, mostly due to a relentless vision. Times are changing, however. People are realizing that there is more to life beyond work. They are less inclined to relocate and spend precious hours away from family and friends. In this enlightened era, a shared vision is much more likely to be realized if personal factors don’t inhibit people from contributing altogether.
I am very sad to be leaving Apple. I’m on a great team doing interesting work. It’s just a shitty situation
I hope you are well and sound!
I am writing this email to express to you my desire to work from home for the long term foreseeable future. I have thought about this thoroughly and there are some reasons that make me believe it is for the best.
When we initially transitioned remotely, I was very skeptical about it and didn’t know how it will affect my life. Now, I’m sure it made my life much better. The time I spent commuting and getting ready for work is substituted with other beneficial personal activities. I have more time to work and improve myself to become a better person and I’m sure it reflects and will continue to reflect on my job’s performance.
Also, the current inflation that is occurring throughout the entire nation and the increase in gas prices became a serious concern for me financially. My financial situation currently cannot afford the commute to work and the related expenses because I have been trying to save up money to buy a house. Every dollar saved is a great help for my future. So, by working from home, I will continue to have better control over my budget and overall finances to buy a house and support my family.
In addition, on April 2, 2022, Ramadan is starting, and it is a holy month for Muslims around the world. As a Muslim who fasts every year, I would love to observe the religious month and fast working remotely. Over the last two years, I have found comfort in being able to pray at the convenience of my home and would love to continue my practice of praying while working remotely.
Therefore, I kindly ask that you consider my reasons to work from home for the foreseeable future so that I can continue my efficiency in performance and have great control over my life. Ever since we transitioned, my work performance has never decreased. I want to assure you it will always stay the same and better.
Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to talking to you.
Working remotely has given me so much time with my family while at the same time being more productive than working in my former stylish open plan office.
I am part of a very small team that works in a remote office. There is little opportunity to collaborate with other teams. Given the high traffic in the area, the commute is 2-3 hours round trip for most on the team. Tolls and gas will cost over $10,000/year and we are being asked to put 12,000+ miles on our cars. That being said, when we get to the office, everyone sits on separate webexes all day long so there is little time for collaboration. Not to mention the hours lost in our work day and family life. I believe that one required day a week in the office is more suitable. I personally know that many high-performing employees (currently at Apple) are looking for jobs with companies that offer a more accommodating arrangement. I fear that we will be losing many valuable players to companies that are offering flexibility.
I was told I could work remote in my job long term, moved, and then was told that decision was reversed. On top of that, my coworker’s children are now at risk because of this return to campus. Some of us care about the health of those kids.
Wow. Glad you all had the courage to speak up. I resonate well with the point on “Diversity”. Only privileged people will get to have steady jobs if this continues. Thank you for speaking up for us. Hope this office work era comes to an end. We are pioneers of a new era.
Over the last two years if anything we saw some increased productivity and massive quality of life benefits. WFH is not the best option for everyone but it's quite clear that a flexible arrangement decided at the team level would make our life and work better. Furthermore even a single pneumonia from an unnecessary covid infection is not worth it when taking all into consideration there are no substantial benefits of inflexible office days.
There is no simply reason not to have location-flexible work, in this century.
I am a father facing 4+ hours commute a day. During lockdown I had another child, and due to not living close to our families, family life has become more unpredictable (illnesses, weather, school/nursery runs etc). Flexibility is the most important ask for us as a family. I want to be able to do my best work for Apple. And - as proven by the last two years - for me that means doing so in a flexible manner
Be closer to a family that is abroad
To work for Apple for the majority of the teams means you are stuck in living in the Bay Area or San Diego. Yes some more options are popping up (i.e. Austin), but the company needs to be doing more to allow work flexibility from more places in the country for the simple reason that it's very expensive to live and difficult to settle down to start a family or buy a house where Apple does business. I hope the executives at Apple understand this and take meaningful action that employees will see, not just hear.
Became a pandemic two years ago and worked from home, but there was nothing wrong with it. I feel it's unfair to have to go back to the office. We should choose whether to work at home or in the office ourselves.
I think a hybrid model could benefit the company and employee. Productivity can increase from stay-at-home work and coming into the office periodically benefits team unity and closeness. Relationships are built through in-person interaction.
Flexible WFH is the future of work at Apple.
Unfortunately in Ireland the prices for accommodation are incredibly high in Cork, flexibility would have to find a cheaper option and have a better life
I would like to be able to pick my days. In fact today is bank holiday and I could have worked from home
I find myself being entirely less productive in the office, too many interruptions. Long commute, wasted time walking throughout the massive campus. I miss productivity of home based.. I do like seeing folks again, but why can’t I just decide when that makes sense instead of being forced into a specific set of days.
I personally cannot work effectively in open plan offices because these office spaces are designed specifically for extroverts, and almost 50% of us are introverts. At my current Software Developer job, I am able to work 100% from home on nothing but a MacBook Pro, and I am noticeably less productive on the odd day where I decide to go into the office. The overwhelming majority of my colleagues say the same is true for them. I believe wholeheartedly in the magic of Apple products because my Mac has given me the power to do whatever I’ve need to throughout the pandemic, so I wholeheartedly support the recommendations made in Apple Together’s letter to the executive team in the interest of looking after employee mental health and improving Apple’s offering to customers like me.
Apple is forcing its employees to return to work when there's clear evidence that proves almost any job can be done successfully fully remote. I believe it's fair that employees have the right to choose whether or not they want to work in an office. Companies like FB, Twitter, Airbnb, Lyft, Spotify etc seems to understand the current time we live in. Apple unfortunately seems to be “stuck in time”
Although we have a long way to go with providing the much needed flexibility to employees, the least the executive team can do, which honestly would still make a lot of employees somewhat happy, is introduce at least some flexibility in this RTO plan. For example, if an employee wants to work Mon-Wed so they can visit their family once in a while, while still working from home on Thursday and Friday, let them. If an employee wants to do a few weeks from home here and there, the least we can do is not limit it to the hard set limit of 4 weeks considering even our PTO is at most half of what any other companies offer. Or maybe make it 4 weeks remote from within the country and 4 weeks from outside. If permanent wfh is not possible, at the very least consider these arrangements. These aren’t even big asks but will definitely go a long way to show that that the company we are giving our life to, cares for us too.
In the past couple of years I realized that my well-being, my happiness has increased significantly because I got to work from home, spending more time with my family, taking care of people that I love and taking care of myself, and I have proven that my productivity has been way better than working in the office. I didn’t have to deal with traffic, or prepare lunch and get up super early and away from my family for 12-14 hrs a day. I realized what is really important in life. As much as I love my job at Apple, Im willing to leave for a more flexible work opportunity elsewhere.
Every single bit of this letter resonated. Flexible work is the future of work, and it would be embarrassing for Apple to move forward with such retrograde ideas about work.
I have a PhD and worked for 17 years in my domain of expertise. Apple RTO policy is ridiculous and managers seem not to act on the requests of remote work arrangement even inside California. They like to micromanage and bully their ICs. Too bad for them, I left for a competitor for a better position, better pay, and 100% remote inside the US. I was IC5.
90% of my team is based outside the US and yet I am required to go to the office 3 times a week to spend my day meeting non US team members over WebEx who are allowed to work from home. This is so unfair and against diversity and inclusion.
The vast majority of Apple employees have demonstrated time and again that where ideas and vision come to life are where they are in the moment - not just contained behind magnetically sealed doors or at official (albeit beautiful) buildings during a formal shift.
We were all inspired to “Think Different”. Why would the leadership of Apple want to undo that guiding principle so quickly by insisting on thinking about doing things the same way we used to just because that’s “normal”?
I resigned my senior position in Apple Corporate last summer in direct response to the return to office policy that was announced. I chose my family over the money and mystique that comes with working at Apple. My family relationships continually suffered while working in Cupertino. Since l’m no longer commuting 3 hours a day, I see my family much more, I’m more productive at my new job, and my health and emotional well-being have improved.
We had a child during the pandemic and moved to be closer to family. I'd love to stay at Apple and work from a Corporate office nearby. We're no longer willing to sacrifice our child being surrounded by family to work from the Bay Area with long commutes and expensive housing.
My employer went fully remote in 2020, and committed to staying that way. It has definitely been an improvement.
Steve Jobs greatest ability was to change his mind and do a complete 180 degrees if someone made a convincing argument to him. This letter is that convincing argument for remote work. This is how we build a more diverse, inclusive, equal future. If we don’t adapt we run the risk of falling prey to Jobs greatest fear; the innovators dilemma. We’re going to lose the next generation of incredible talent to companies that embraced remote work. It’s not too late for us to do the same.
I was given an extension to stay at home longer (9 weeks) due to being a single mother who homeschools her child. I’ve cried to the area manager regarding the expenses it will cost me to put her back in school and have me commute an hour to the office. They show no remorse. These people do not care. APPLE DOES NOT CARE!!!!
Helps me save 2.5hrs of commute time and associated stress everyday, which in turn helps me pick up my young kids earlier and contribute to nurturing my family
Our scope has grown and is across timezones, with collaboration expected across multiple cities and offices. We rarely work with employees in the same office and with the elimination of business travel over the last two years, remote work has defined a new paradiigm of working.
I work for the retail business team and working remotely made much more sense for this role, than many other roles within the store. Upon returning to the office I have been very uncomfortable risking my health (with Covid) and also distracted by aspects of the store that really are not suited for the role that I am in. One example, we cannot make simultaneous phone calls because it’s too loud to do so for the customers. We wait until one person is done with their call. It’s very frustrating and a waste of time and resources.
I am a disabled veteran who could only take the position in corporate because I receive disability pay. If I did not I would not have been able to relocate and afford to live in California. I suffer from extreme anxiety, but working from home has been a huge help to my work performance as well as my mental health. My position is call center work, and we have been doing it just fine for 2 years. There is no way in the world that you can tell me that my job can be done better from a cubicle surrounded by noise, bright lights, and other constant distractions. There is 0 in person collaboration needed for my role. Not to mention it’s shift work, and my leads are in another country at the time that I’m at work. So now I’m being told to come into an office and be there late at night alone. A female. Who was already sexually assaulted by a coworker who Apple refused to fire, they instead promoted him. Call return to work what it really is. A chance to babysit us.
I have declined to interview for Apple roles on multiple occasions due to a lack of remote work flexibility. I currently work for a software competitor.
I am currently being taxed out of my home due to the extreme inflation of property values. The location I live is entirely because of the proximity to the office. Having a flexibility in my location would allow me to relocate to an area that is much more suited to my needs as a person, while allowing me to continue to work for the company I’ve been at for the last 15 years.
I would hate to have to leave a technology company because they neglected to embrace technological progress.
The pandemic is still raging, and people deserve flexible work options. Apple workers deserve better. I truly hope these nonsense policies change.
Apple forced me to leave my home country and my spouse and kids, as I did not want to force them to uproot their lifes and leave all of their friends just to come to a country that has nothing to offer for them. Yet, I also wanted to pursue my dream job and Apple made it very clear that this meant I had to relocate to the US. All of this even though I worked without issues with my team remotely, while it was distributed over multiple time zones during the pandemic. Apple made me choose between my family and my dream job and I actually picked my job at Apple. For now. I cannot bear missing my kids and my spouse much longer and listen to them missing me. I will return home at some point, one way or the other, I just hope that I'll still be able to do the work I'm passionate about.
As a parent, remote work allows me to remain in the workforce, when I would not have that luxury if I had to travel on-site. I have participated in the RTO pilot program, and can confidently say that I am twice as productive working from home. If management wants to keep breaking revenue goals, it should allow employees to keep doing what we've been doing to succeed: working from home.
As a SWE employee, I would love the opportunity to work from home as I have proven myself to deliver high quality work from home over the last two years, including earning a promotion.
The Apple Park office I work in is full of distractions and interruptions that I do not get while working from home. Most of us have grown up in the internet age and know how to easily communicate with one another when we need to reach someone. But in office work leads to easy, non-work related distractions that cannot be avoided without fear of being dismissive.
The “water cooler” moments do NOT exist. We are all gated by disclosures and cannot organically have these conversations in VERY PUBLIC SPACES at Apple Park, especially when sound carried very easily through those halls.
I would even gladly take a pay cut and give up access to prototype devices to be allowed to work from home, possibly in a more affordable area.
I have been with Apple for almost two decades. I love this company and what it stands for - its values speak to the heart of the work we do every day. I truly wish Apple would value its heart and soul, its people, and let them and their managers decide what is best for their work rather than some worry that the $5b spaceship will be empty. Trust me - that’s not going to happen. AP is overcrowded as it is with teams being reorg’d and moved out even in the last week.
Even if we gave employees who CAN do their work from home, and have proven they can, the choice, there will 100% still be employees who HAVE to come to the office as their job physically cannot be done without it. And with all of the extra space in AP, we’d be able to stop leasing some buildings throughout the area and move more teams into the office.
I hope Apple, and Tim, take a look at the current situation and reconsider their stance.
To work at an innovating high tech company like Apple without having the possibility to continue remote work while other more normal companies offer this to their employees seems incredible to me. I am in a high risk group and are so afraid to be together with hundreds of employees in a room when nobody wears a mask anymore. This is negligent as the virus still is around.The best would be to have flexibility so that some people continue remote work while others voluntarily can go to the office.
I have Covid-induced agoraphobia. Working from home has become a necessity for me. And yet, I’ve been denied to continue working remotely and receive my salary for absolutely no reason that makes sense. I know of many other people in situations very similar to mine who either left Apple after years of devoted work or went back to their stores to work through panic attacks and anxieties because of Apple’s inflexibility. We must have real flexibility and real choices
I prefer working from home and as an AppleCare Advisor there is not a single reason I need to be in the office. I talk on the phone to people from all over the planet, and can remotely view their screens to troubleshoot and resolve their issues. I do not need to be in the office to be with my team. Half of my team are At Home Advisors, and my direct manager lives in another state and is also full time at home. Honestly, it is just stupid to make myself and others come back to the office if we do not want to be there. If someone can give me any reason why I need to be in the office at all, when the other half of my team does not, I want to hear it.
These past two years have been an eye opener regarding how much time is lost commuting to and from work. This is time I won't get back to spend with my children when they were younger. I want to choose to be able to continue to work from home because I enjoy being able to take a snack or lunch break with them. Or take them on walks during my lunch. I also have an aging father who lives by himself and would be great to be able to move and live closer to him in another state. The flexibility to work remote is invaluable to Apple and the employees.
In order to have a great professional life one must enjoy a strong family life. In a very rich company flexibility is possible.
i'm at high risk of covid and neuro divergent. i've done the best work of my life safe at home for the past few years. I'd like to not die to do work i can safely do at home.
It’s not just about supporting what I want, but ultimately it’s how I can best support my teammates. I am legitimately concerned for the future of Apple if the executive team does not reassess its stance on FWA.
The Department of the Navy, my employer, has VERY successfully transitioned into a telework environment for our engineering workforce. While some classified work must remain on site for obvious reasons, DoN is continuing its flexibility having learned that our technical workforce is FAR more productive when given a choice; actual metrics show dramatic productivity increases from work-at-home due to lack of drive-bys, great collaborative tools, and a level playing field for us to communicate cross-agency vs. the rigors of travel, etc. You hire people as experts. Allow your experts (your workforce) to tell YOU what maximizes their productivity. Even the government understands that their workforce is comprised of 99.99% of wildly dedicated professionals; respectfully, show your own team that same consideration.
Location-flexible work is important to me and others because there are concrete financial, mental, physical, and environmental benefits. I’m not wasting time and creating pollution commuting to an office. I’m paying for my coffee, electricity, and internet access; not Apple. I’m able to balance my work and home life in a way that is impossible while being forced into an office. Location-flexible work is the way of the future, and to deny that is nothing less than willful ignorance.
The Hybrid program does not consider thousands of young engineers that had to leave their family and even country behind in the pursue of building great products at apple. The inflexibility causes the engineers to waste a lot of useful time instead of focusing on what truly matters for Apple
[...] I am a blind woman who would love to work for apple, however the commute would be tiring at best due the fact i would have to take multiple forms of transportation just to get to work. Also my better half has complex medical needs and beeing able to work from home would enable me to attend to a medical emergency should it happen. I can't stomach the fact of something happening to him should I not be at home if I'm needed.
I’m one of the lucky ones that found a remote position at Apple recently. I hope Apple fully embraces remote working, because I care about this company and the happiness of those that are part of it. I hope Apple adopts a clear and long term vision that embraces the future of the workplace, and pioneers it. The world is moving forward without us — the crazy ones that should be leading by example. We must not hesitate and act sooner rather than later. So many of our brilliant people are going to leave because they know they can and have lost all hope.
Apple claims to care deeply about the environment, but requiring employees to be in the office 3+ days a week is not good for the environment. In addition to the pollution from commuting back and forth, Apple being such a large company means this decision puts a significant number of people on the road. More people means more traffic and that means more pollution. The wear and tear on cars increases the frequency of needed maintenance, such as oil changes. Apple is choosing to ignore that its decision will have a negative impact on the ongoing climate crisis, but will tout how much they care about the environment. Act your words, Apple.
The second letter addresses supporting reasons for remote work. I will not restate them here much of them apply to me personally. I know a plethora of diverse individuals with needs that AHA WFH would benefit them individually. I cannot believe in 2022 when we speak of diversity as a company we are not following our own credo and beliefs we share with the world limiting work flexibility to all people. I am shocked and depressed over, having to tell others who'd be beneficial to Apple to reconsider because our rigid policies can't accommodate them. We need to be and stay competitive, rigid policies like this only hurt everything.
My wife works at Apple and RTO has significantly impacted our lives in a negative way. My job allows full remote work but that is meaningless when a spouse is required to live in a specific location. This a major contributor of stress. She is considering leaving Apple so we can regain our freedom.
“If you have to watch someone in order to make sure they are getting their work done, then you hired to wrong person”
Apple has always been about “thinking differently” but RTO is not thinking differently. After two years of wfh, employees have proven that they can work and have great work and life balance while still being productive. After RTO started ramping, the work and life balance has diminished for some employees who have benefited from wfh. Not all employees want to wfh, but Apple should be following Google and Microsoft in giving employees more flexibility in terms of working in the office, doing a hybrid approach of RTO and wfh, or wfh permanently. I've already seen really talented people leave Apple because of this inflexibility, which will affect Apple's future products and services.
My parents both have neurodegenerative diseases, my Mom has Alzheimer's and my Dad has a rare Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. While I've hired caregivers, which permit me to work, they don't do everything, like manage all the medical issues, Dr appts or logistics. It's been necessary for my partner & I to move in with my parents to help them. My parents would not do well in a nursing home and I want them to have the best quality of life. Working remotely permits me to be there for family while being able to work to support them too. During this time of great stress, I've been the most productive ever, not needing to deal with a 2-3 hour commute, being able to work different shifts, and I received a promotion while juggling 2 parents in declining health. I also have ADD, I do not do well in an open office - with all the distractions, people, noise, it's hard to focus. Working at home, gives me the environment where I can do my best work, focus on projects and deliver the best solutions. Webex meetings are also more democratized, I have never been able to contribute more in meetings than I do now remotely. For all the above and more, Apple is showing they aren't innovative or progressive when other Tech companies recognize that remote work is here to stay. My work is better for remote work as is my coworkers who are too afraid to say anything.
This is important to me for many reasons. 1. My parents both have health issues and I was around them on a weekly basis until COVID hit. I'm wearing masks around them and don't want to return in worry of getting COVID and giving it to them. 2. It works better for many people and not everyone is extraverted and likes being around others. This has been accomplished for over 2 years without issue. It seems like the only reason executives want people back onsite is micromanagement. We are still the same company whether we are onsite or remote. Why require onsite and have people leave? I work on the helpline and Fridays are “Today is my last day at Apple” all day long.. This is sad and makes me a bit angry in the sense that I know requiring RTO is the reason. We are all adults. Do what you will. I no longer live near campus as I need to take care of my own health now. Thanks Apple for taking my career, 12 years of my life I've given and in the midst of loosing my wife to cancer a few years back now it's no job to go along with it. Good way to show you care about nothing but money. Employees are nothing more than a badge number it's proven time and time again.. Thanks Apple for nothing.
Location-flexible work is important to me and others because there are concrete financial, mental, physical, and environmental benefits. I’m not wasting time and creating pollution commuting to an office. I’m able to balance my work and home life in a way that is impossible while being forced into an office. Consider someone who has an hour long commute. That is two hours of their day every time they are forced into the office. Two hours they could be spending with family, friends, learning, making themselves or the world better, but instead are wasted without no real good reason. Location-flexible work is the way of the future, and to deny that is nothing less than willful ignorance.
I left my full-time job with Apple and took another job with fewer benefits, but with more responsibilities, flexibility and the opportunity to work from wherever I want. This allowed me to stay in my home country and live with my family rather than having to stay in a different country I had to go to the office every day. I can’t believe Apple was forcing me to go back to the office 5 days a week when my job did not require it at all.
Improve efficiency, reduced commute stress, less distractions from loud colleagues
I have a medically complex child and live in Austin where we have no help from family. I love my job at Apple - but not having the flexibility to live close to family where we can have actual support is almost too much to bear. I've had that flexibility the past two years - and now, doing it on our own again, it's extremely exhausting and frustrating that it is being taken just for corporate control over it's workers going into an office setting that seems like a archaic approach.
It is infuriating to see Apple use rules for one department and make everyone adhere to them. There is absolutely no reason why AppleCare needs to be in an office. Not to mention all of its specialty groups. Who have already been hushed on site for collaborating....
Quality of life. The world has changed. We cannot go back to how we used to do things. A lot of us have thrived WFH the past 2+ years. Allow those of us who work better remotely to continue to do so. Apple needs to step up, acknowledge we can do hard things, respect your employees and how they work best. Let us do our best work without the constraints. In the scheme of things, remote work is NOT a big ask. Please, consider changing the way we do things. Flexibility, not a one-size-fits-all solution, is what is needed here.
It will keep me happy and I don't have to risk my life contracting disease in a shared office
Given that all but 1 of my team members are based outside of my office location (Austin), I think it would make more sense to do a monthly or quarterly in-person team building session for 3-days (if monthly) or 5-days (if quarterly) all together vs. working remotely but in office. As a recruiter I am certain that this flexibility would also be seen as a big value-add to my candidates.
I believe Apple is much behind other cooperations and is extremely inflexible! It shows how little Apple cares about their employees. We showed we can do it in other ways for two years and I am willing to fight for a change!
I am a long-time Apple customer and would love to work on Apple products, but relocating to any of the places where existing offices are is almost certainly out of the question. After factoring in how my skills and interests intersect with the locations of teams that might benefit from them, I don't see how I can ever realize my desire to work for Apple.
We have a responsibility to the world to ensure that our products work in a remote and flexible world. We have a responsibility to our people to not wash away the amazing work and life they have created over the past two years. If we do this we not only alienate the people who drove our success, but we lose out on future employees who could change the world with us.
I live in Europe. My family and friends are scattered throughout the world. Remote work would make seeing them much easier.
It would improve my mental health. Allow me to make more use of the limited time and funds available to me.
As it would for the thousands of other employees who find themselves in similar situations.
I in fact am happy to work in the office. Yet there are days, weeks, when I know it would be better for myself, my colleagues and my work that I stay at home. Mental health, especially among younger generations, is a precarious thing. Remote work allows us to flexibly deal with inconsistent issues. To not have to worry about the bad days and when they may strike
It would also draw more people to Apple, as increasingly younger, less established but rapidly growing companies do offer remote work.
Apple will be left behind eventually.
Apple has always prided itself on thinking different, on leading the next wave of innovation.
Why are we not doing so with this?
Apple favors California and Texas and expects us to pick up our lives and families and move there. Being a caregiver for an elderly parent isn’t enough reason not to; being a parent isn’t enough reason; they will not budge. They will continue to lose talent if they continue to have the nerve to expect everyone to be open to uprooting their entire lives. We need to work to live, not the other way around.
To be able to work for apple. I love apple but if we are force to go back to the office, its imposible for me to move to where the offices are with out taking something away from my family. I will not take their great schools and nice home that we have worked so hard for so that I can work for the company I love apple! its just not worth it.
I am an experienced iOS developer with passion for the platform and I would love to work at Apple. But I also have a family that I will not relocate away from their friends and relatives, so my dream is just frustration.
I am a loyal Customer of Apple products I even gave you my first born child to work for you. Please respect your loyal employees. It is in the best interest for Apple to trust their dedication in their jobs.
I personally enjoy socializing with friends on campus, but working onsite often means much of the day is consumed with this. With the commute, and the distractions of hallway or pod conversations means I get little actual work done. While at home, I can shut the door to my office and really focus. But, I'm still available for meetings and quick slack questions. Scheduling meetings is so easy, and there is no conflict on a meeting room. Also, I get to spend more time with my favorite people, my wife and kids, helping them with a school question, working through math problems, even teaching them how to code. The hybrid work plan is all pain and no gain for me.
1) We are in a climate crisis. The more vehicles we can get off the road, the better. 2) Flexible work arrangements lower the barriers for people with disabilities or other challenging circumstances to work at Apple, supporting Apple's goal of inclusion.
Remote work would allow me to spend more time doing what I love and what I want - more time with my family, more time cultivating my happiness, and more time innovating on the products which will power our company forward. My happiness is my greatest motivator - without it, I cannot do my life's best work.
When Apple went remote in 2020, I felt included in my team's decision-making process for the first time.
When I have flexibility I can spend more time with my family and be available to work with colleagues worldwide. When I'm forced to be at the office I spend less time with my family only to collaborate with people in other Apple offices and sometimes in an entirely different continent.
In terms of “being young enough to start a new life in a new city/country”- that is me. I am a young lady who sacrificed for Apple to relocate to another city. I did not receive any support nor relocation package to-do so either. I'm a first generation college graduate and minority of color who dreamed to work for Apple. Yet, my family is poor and remains poor despite my salary that's all utilized to pay for essential expenses to “start a new life in a new city”. I'm speaking on behalf of many other young minorities who come from similar backgrounds and also dream to work for Apple. We are not of less talent. We are simply not privileged nor will we ever reach the same level with the current system in play.
A location-flexible work policy would allow me to continue working with Apple as I am becoming ineligible to continue in AppleCare's College Program and do not live where an office is.
My team is in 3 countries and the work remotely has been a huge win for us. If I return to the office I will spend 70% in Webex and 30% commuting
Location flexible work allows me to be near my family and care for aging parents. I do not want to have to pick between my career and elder care.
We have received a lot of comments from our survey. Most of them are reproduced here, however we took the liberty of filtering some out that were either just short agreements like “you are right!” or were trolling or spam. Those comments that we do include here we reproduce faithfully, but we removed personally identifying information like email addresses and names from some. If something was left out, this was marked with “[…]”.
