Many CEOs are itching to get workers back into the office, but tech CEOs who want that face an even more uphill battle: After all, it’s their industry that made remote work possible.
Why is it important? The tech industry is built on “experimental fodder” — the idea that companies should use the products they push to the public — and tech leaders’ efforts to lure disinterested workers back into the office park will do just that.
driving news; this week Apple, the world’s most expensive technology company, began requiring employees to report to the office at least three days a week.
- Many leaders in tech and beyond see this week and coming weeks as “the best hope to get employees back into a more regular office schedule before the fall and winter holidays,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Jason Bram, an economist at the NY Fed, told Axios’ Emily Peck last month that others are slowly accepting that there should be no return to “normal.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook He walked a careful line between acknowledging the appeal of remote work but praising in-person “relaxation” and “collaboration” and making it clear that he and Apple want to see more troops at the $5 billion company. Southern headquarters.
- The company always prioritizes confidentiality, and it’s hard to enforce when employees appreciate it.
- Last month, more than 1,000 Apple employees signed a petition calling for the company to accept more flexibility in the three-day-a-week rule.
The big picture: Apple’s position is unusually non-negotiable among tech giants.
- Some tech companies have embraced remote work and even abandoned their headquarters. Others have tried to let employees choose their preferred mode.
- Few have gone to the big New York banks and other giants that want everyone to return to their desks five times a week as if Covid never happened.
- Across most industries, executives are three times more likely than employees to return to the office, according to a Pew survey earlier this year.
Between the lines; In technology, every struggle comes down to numbers. But arguments over the relative levels of productivity you can find within and across offices are difficult to resolve with data.
- Employee productivity is particularly difficult to measure in the software industry.
Managers who support work in the office are inevitable Relying less on statistics and more on cultural and creative calling.
- That’s usually sincere—but it can also feed the suspicions of employees because the bosses are driven by nostalgia or a hunger for control.
as well as – Covid is still with us, frequently sending “to the office” workers home again.
Note: Apple TV+ had an airing this year with “Severance,” which depicts the world of office workers through neural technology that erases their distant work experiences and memories from the rest of their lives.
- Of course, there are some problems with this arrangement. But they all show up in the office every weekday!
Our thought bubble: Apple led the personal-computer revolution with attractive personalization. The company’s reluctance to fully embrace remote work is not only discouraging to some employees — it feels incredibly off-brand.
