Skip to main content

Major tech companies are letting their employees work from home. But Apple thinks different. (AAPL)

* Apple is reportedly asking some employees to return to work throughout May and early June, signaling a departure from the reopening strategies of other major tech firms. * The move illustrates how critical hardware is to Apple's business and how its culture of secrecy means it operates differently than other Silicon Valley companies. * Other tech firms, like Facebook and Google, are allowing employees to work remotely over the coming months. Twitter and Square have allowed remote work permanently. * Are you an Apple employee with insight to share? If so, we want to hear from you. Contact this reporter at leadicicco@businessinsider.com or through encrypted mail at lisaeadicicco@protonmail.com, or send a direct message on Twitter to @LisaEadicicco. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Apple has reportedly asked some employees to return to the office over the coming weeks in what is likely an effort to resume regular work on critical and confidential products. The company's push to get its global offices up and running as soon as possible comes even as many other offices plan to stay closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. It's also in stark contrast to competitors like Microsoft, Google, and Facebook that plan to settle into long-term remote work for the months to come. The company has famously maintained a distinct culture of secrecy that has defined its working conditions as different from those of other Silicon Valley giants — and other large corporations period. That's seemingly evident in its office reopening strategy as Bloomberg has reported that Apple has already begun its first phase of bringing employees back to work in some regions. That plan is expected to continue through late May and early June to the company's global offices, the report said. Even more employees are expected to return in July during Apple's reported second phase. It's uncertain whether returning to work is mandatory for the workers included in phase one, and it's also unclear which specific teams have been asked to return. Employees will either be asked to report to the office regularly or only in certain periods, according to Bloomberg. The first phase will include employees whose jobs are more challenging to execute from home. The report also says that work on upcoming Apple hardware projects, like the virtual- and augmented-reality glasses the company is reportedly developing, has been scaled back while employees have been working remotely. Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The company's move to get corporate employees back to the office as quickly as possible during a pandemic appears to be a departure from the approach taken by other technology companies. Amazon has told employees that those who can work from home can continue to do so until October 2, according to Reuters. Microsoft, which like Amazon, Apple, and other tech companies has been remote since March, also said that most workers can continue doing their jobs from home through October. Facebook's offices are expected to reopen in July, but the social-media giant said it would allow most employees to work from home for the rest of the year. Google, similarly, has told employees that they would likely be working from home for the rest of the year, although those who need to return to the office would be able to do so in June or July. In what may be the most extreme remote-work policy change to come from a major tech company so far, Twitter is allowing employees to work from home permanently. Payments company Square, which Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also leads, is allowing workers to permanently work remotely, too. But unlike many of these companies, Apple's business model is largely hardware-centric. The iPhone still generates more revenue than any other Apple product, and its wearables division has been booming in recent years. Working on new hardware remotely is likely proving challenging, especially for a company that famously prioritizes secrecy. Doors on campus have blacked-out windows to preserve privacy, and staff are usually allowed to take home products only if they receive permission from their division's vice president, according to Bloomberg. Employees are also given access to only certain doors with their ID badges depending on which projects they've been informed of, a former Apple employee wrote for Vox in 2017. But as the company has been forced to move to work-from-home arrangements, some engineers have reportedly been allowed to take home hardware products so that they can continue working. Certain employees considered business critical, like data-center engineers and some hardware testers, have also been allowed to work in the office as other employees stay remote. There are still many lingering questions about what returning to work will look like. Even plans that are being set in place by companies like Apple could change depending on how the situation evolves given the coronavirus' unpredictable nature. What Apple's reported decision tells us so far, though, is that it sees its work as very much tied to an in-office culture, even as other tech firms are embracing remote-work lifestyles. What Apple plans to do to ensure employee health and public safety as consequence of this decision remains to be seen. Are you an Apple employee with insight to share? If so, we want to hear from you. Contact this reporter at leadicicco@businessinsider.com or through encrypted mail at lisaeadicicco@protonmail.com, or send a direct message on Twitter to @LisaEadicicco. SEE ALSO: For months, Apple said it wouldn't break into an iPhone for the FBI. Attorney General Barr just said the FBI was able to do it without Apple's help. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship
https://bit.ly/3g63nS9

Popular posts from this blog

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX.  Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...

How to send your location on Snapchat to your friends through the app's Snap Map feature

* You can send your location on Snapchat to a single friend or to several users in a group.   * To send a location on Snapchat, you'll need to visit your friendship history with a user and locate the "Send My Location" feature.  * Once you send a location on Snapchat to a friend, they can tap it and zoom in to see where you are.  * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Whether you want to share the location of your favorite restaurant or the address of your new apartment, you can easily send your location on Snapchat to your friends.  You can do this using the Snap Map and will even be prompted to select who you want to share you location with the first time you use the app feature. You can choose to share your location with your mutual friends, a list of friends with exceptions, or a small group of selected friends.  To send your location directly to a mutual Snapchat friend, you must visit your chat history through your friends li...