Apple Pushes Back on Remote Work: Should You Follow Suit?

Apple remains committed to requiring most employees to work in the office at least three days a week from September, despite staff opposition,?The Verge reports. Apple employees had?written a letter?asking for the policy to be reversed, giving all teams the option to work remotely.?

"We believe that in-person collaboration is essential to our culture and our future," a senior vice president said in a video recording seen by?The Verge.?Any new remote positions will require executive approval.?

Mark my words. Apple will be walking back this statement the moment they start to see a rise in unwanted employee turnover.?

The only question here is, "What will the top 20% of employees, and potential employees, decide to do?" The answer will be, "Whatever they want."?

The days of organizations controlling the lives of knowledge workers are over.

The most desirable employees are the ones who adapted most effectively to remote working, and these people have proven that work-from-home works.?

Employers, who draw a line in the sand and insist that these vital works waste countless hours sitting in traffic away from family each week in order to "be more collaborative" will find themselves losing the war for talent.

Earlier this week, I was in Philadelphia visiting our kids, who are seniors at Drexel University. Our son, a computer science major, shared tales of his friends who are recent graduates making more money than some of my friends, who've been working for years in their field.?

His friends received multiple offers and have chosen to work for an employer that provides them with the ability to work on their own terms. If given an ultimatum that is not to their liking, they'll have no trouble finding another work situation, which may even result in a pay raise.

If you take the same position as Apple and you say, "My way or the highway," you'll soon find a traffic jam in your company parking lot that resembles beach traffic on a holiday weekend.?

My advice is to tread carefully here. Discuss with your team the goals that need to happen as we move out of this pandemic, and allow them to help shape the future of work at your organization.?

? Matuson Consulting, June 2021.

I'm hosting a FREE webinar on the Great "Refusal to Work" Lie on Tuesday, July 20th, from 11:00 AM EST to 11:45 AM EST. We'll be talking about why people don't want to come work for you and what you can do to change this. Email me at [email protected] to attend or if you'd like the recording.

Bio:?Roberta Matuson, president of Matuson Consulting, is a workplace strategist who helps organizations attract?and?keep the best people. Her clients include General Motors, Takeda, and Microsoft. She's the author of six books, including the bestselling,?Suddenly in Charge?and?Evergreen Talent. Her new book,?Can We Talk: Seven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work?will be released in September 2021.?Contact us?for our Evergreen Talent Audit?, and we'll help you find the right people for the right jobs right away.