Apple says its hybrid work model stays, despite pressure from employees

Apple Park photo of the side of the main building
Apple Park photo of the side of the main building (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple says that its hybrid work model remains despite pressure from employees.
  • Apple wants people to work from the office three days per week.

Apple has told employees that it doesn't intend to back down from its new hybrid work model — the one that will allow employees to work from home two days per week, but requires them to be in the office during the other three. This comes after employees pushed back, saying that they wanted more flexible working options.

Despite employees wanting the option to work remotely full time, Deirdre O'Brien, senior vice president of retail + people, has told them that isn't an option because "in-person collaboration is essential to [Apple's] culture and our future."

A new report by The Verge says O'Brien delivered the message in a video that was recorded and shared with employees. Apple has historically been very much against the prospect of people working remotely, unlike many other companies in its field. The COVID-19 pandemic caused Apple to rethink things for obvious reasons, but all that's done is show employees the benefits of working from home and they want more of it.

Apple doesn't just want people in the office for collaboration reasons. It's easier to control leaks when everyone, and everything, is locked inside Apple Park. The company is in the middle of another blitz on leaks and will be doing all it can to ensure its secrets stay just that — secret. We've already seen iPhone 13 leak in various forms, for example.

One thing that nobody wants to keep secret is deals! Like this collection of the best iMac deals for example. Now's a great time to add an M1 iMac to your desk if you're working from home. Whether is with Apple, or not!

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.