Apple employees criticize work-from-home policy in open letter

A group of Apple employees have written an open letter to the company complaining about its new policy that only allows for two days of working from home. They said that Apple's reasons for implementing the policy don't stand up, and that the policy will lead to a younger, whiter, more male-dominated, more able-bodied population.

The letter states that the decision for the hybrid working pilot does not recognize flexible work. Fear of the future of work, fear of worker autonomy, fear of losing control.

We tell all of our customers how great our products are for remote work, yet, we ourselves, cannot use them to work remotely? How can we expect our customers to take that seriously? How can we understand what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don't live it?

In March, Apple announced that corporate employees would need to be at work two days a week by May 2nd. It will shift to a hybrid model with mandatory office days on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. In an email, the executive team talked about the importance of serendipity that comes from bumping into colleagues during in-person work.

In some cases, in-person collaboration is not needed monthly according to the letter. It disagreed with the statement that Apple's office structure makes it difficult to get to know one another. They said that Apple's open-plan offices limit the concentration required for creativity and deep thought.

It noted that a daily commute is a huge waste of time as well as both mental and physical resources.

It was argued that Apple was being hypocritical in the way it marketed its products. How can we know what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don't live it?

Apple often presents itself as progressive and inclusive in its ads, which is why the letter is a sign of growing employee discontent. Employees recently started organizing a push for real change at the company, citing a pattern of isolation, degradation and gaslighting, and even created an #AppleToo movement. The company is being investigated by the US National Labor Relations Board, which is looking into complaints of hostile working conditions.