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Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working
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Apple Park cost $5 billion to build (source), and tax incentives to Apple from the City of Cupertino between 1997 and 2021 amounted to $80 million (Source).
Apple’s tax deal with the City, which deals with sales tax revenue, is not dependent on headcount but on infrastructure investments (housing, education and transportation) from the company.
When you factor in the annual operating expenses for Apple Park, it seems the company actually values face-to-face collaboration between individuals and teams.
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I have lunch buddies with the building logistics of my workplace. There's a huge operating cost to the building whether people are there or not. And there's added cost to supporting remote workers. Not to mention the giant foot print of the building itself that used to house thousands of employees who are now wfh. So I understand if they want people to get back into the office. Especially if they can show lower efficiency with them not at work. Not to mention there people abusing the crap out of wfh by not actually working.
We are all made different. But personally, I get NOTHING done at home. If the family is there, I get nothing done. If I am by myself, I get nothing done.
When I drive to work, listen to podcasts during the commute, see the sky and trees, it puts my mind in a totally different place. I think that would be true if I worked in a gazillion dollar circle, or here in my 14x20 (I guess) room with desk, computer, books, chair, coffee maker, and classical music. For me, the few feet from the bedroom to the living room just isn't far enough to transition me to entirely different frame of mind.
When I drive to work, listen to podcasts during the commute, see the sky and trees, it puts my mind in a totally different place. I think that would be true if I worked in a gazillion dollar circle, or here in my 14x20 (I guess) room with desk, computer, books, chair, coffee maker, and classical music. For me, the few feet from the bedroom to the living room just isn't far enough to transition me to entirely different frame of mind.
Unhappy/oppressed employees leave and go elsewhere.
Company innovation falls.
Would i want to work at Apple with this culture? nope.
Give the employees a break and ask and trust them to do good work.
This sort of stalking is like having someone stand over you as you work. You're never going to do your best.
Yes you can crack people with a whip but you'll never get the creativity and innovation that the products deserve.
Company innovation falls.
Would i want to work at Apple with this culture? nope.
Give the employees a break and ask and trust them to do good work.
This sort of stalking is like having someone stand over you as you work. You're never going to do your best.
Yes you can crack people with a whip but you'll never get the creativity and innovation that the products deserve.
No one is irreplaceable. In 2023 the pendulum is shifting and many comoanues want a hybrid work environment.
The net effect of the discontented leaving is that companies can rebuild their teams and have them be more cohesive now that discontenteds have left.
Those that don’t get with the program will be fired. In 2023 there are no shortage of employees as layoffs continue.
I don't get how having people come in is cost cutting? There's tremendous real estate savings when you have more of your staff remote and you're able to shrink your footprint. (now, Apple having invested so much in Apple Park, I get wanting to realize their ROI).
Word is the companies in Silicon Valley are using the recession and layoffs to pressure their employees back into the office (whereas elsewhere, more companies are embracing the opportunity to realize savings).
And, yes, how productive people are working at home varies case by case. If you're having issues with distractions you need to find a way to have an isolated space.
Back when I worked at BlackBerry, I had to setup an office in the basement as my dogs wouldn't leave me alone if I was foolish enough to work in the living room.
Oh..and those thinking they're being so smart with badging in, then going home at lunch...umm...VPN logs?
Word is the companies in Silicon Valley are using the recession and layoffs to pressure their employees back into the office (whereas elsewhere, more companies are embracing the opportunity to realize savings).
And, yes, how productive people are working at home varies case by case. If you're having issues with distractions you need to find a way to have an isolated space.
Back when I worked at BlackBerry, I had to setup an office in the basement as my dogs wouldn't leave me alone if I was foolish enough to work in the living room.
Oh..and those thinking they're being so smart with badging in, then going home at lunch...umm...VPN logs?
I mean it's totally understandable that a company making just $166.871B profit, per year, would be looking at anyway possible to cut costs. Tough times.
Most managers knew this but for the past few years have been shouted down from the WFH all-or-nothing zealots. WFH works for a limited number of jobs for a limited number of days per week. The rest is just pure employee entitlement, and yes, lost productivity. Tim is only doing what he has to do. The WFH pendulum is thankfully swinging the other way.
I am currently job hunting. I am looking because my employer requires me to be on site 5 days a week. We worked fully remote for 2 years and productivity did not go down and I can do my job remotely.
I am looking for jobs that are fully remote or hybrid only having to go into the office 1-2 days a week. Since I can be fully functional remotely, I think employers should provide a salary premium for employees who have to go into the office 5 days a week.
If 2 employers are making me an offer for the same salary and one is fully remote or hybrid and the other is on site, I would definitely accept the remote or hybrid position over the on site position.
Commuting is a waste of personal time and money. Employees should be reimbursed or given financial assistance for that time.
I am looking for jobs that are fully remote or hybrid only having to go into the office 1-2 days a week. Since I can be fully functional remotely, I think employers should provide a salary premium for employees who have to go into the office 5 days a week.
If 2 employers are making me an offer for the same salary and one is fully remote or hybrid and the other is on site, I would definitely accept the remote or hybrid position over the on site position.
Commuting is a waste of personal time and money. Employees should be reimbursed or given financial assistance for that time.
Not in NYC. More and more companies are offering new hires remote or a hybrid work schedule.
How do you figure that? The building is still there. Some employees still have to come in. All the utilities and HVAC still have to run. It's not always as simple as compartmentalizing and consolidating the buildings. If it's small operation with a small building foot print I get it. But Silicon Valley is anything but small building foot print. Most of the big brands like Apple have huge buildings and thousands of employees. You don't just shut down all the building operations just because they're wfh.I don't get how having people come in is cost cutting? There's tremendous real estate savings when you have more of your staff remote and you're able to shrink your footprint. (now, Apple having invested so much in Apple Park, I get wanting to realize their ROI).
Word is the companies in Silicon Valley are using the recession and layoffs to pressure their employees back into the office (whereas elsewhere, more companies are embracing the opportunity to realize savings).
And, yes, how productive people are working at home varies case by case. If you're having issues with distractions you need to find a way to have an isolated space.
Back when I worked at BlackBerry, I had to setup an office in the basement as my dogs wouldn't leave me alone if I was foolish enough to work in the living room.
Oh..and those thinking they're being so smart with badging in, then going home at lunch...umm...VPN logs?
If people were honest, you’d be right.
But there HAS to be sick time, because many would abuse their employer’s policy and call in sick when they don’t feel like working.
I get where you are going with it but Apple messed up building out that new Apple campus which costs millions if not more. They want to see butts in seats after spending all that money on a new HQ. The real savings would have come by not building out a new HQ as large as it is now and factoring in WFH. Hindsight is 20/20.
Wait…
They haven’t already been doing this?
Like… I would’ve suspected they were doing this back in the 90s and 2000s with how the company operated.
I could just imagine Steve watching the badge database to see if anyone was even putting a toe out of line.
They haven’t already been doing this?
Like… I would’ve suspected they were doing this back in the 90s and 2000s with how the company operated.
I could just imagine Steve watching the badge database to see if anyone was even putting a toe out of line.
I thought “innovation” and doing things better were part of their culture, too. Why hold to outdated paradigms that might no longer apply. Not every job NEEDS that level of collaboration, and there are lots of growth opportunities in those areas. There would be even more if companies like Apple did not pull unnecessary assertion of dominance moves on its staff.
You consolidate. In Apple's case, their employees aren't entirely at Apple Park. People coming into the office can have alternating days in the office and you use "hoteling" - people don't require dedicated desks. Lockers for personal items.
When you shrink your real estate footprint you either sell, lease out or cut your leases for the space you no longer need.
A lot of tech companies, being cash rich, when they were booming made significant investments in real estate. There's likely to be a surplus of office space in the area now - they could convert these to condos / residential and move them off to Stratas.
I agree, espeically given how we used to have stamped cards in ye old analog days.
I don't like tracking software like those things that monitor clicks or activity on the computer, but tracking if employees come to work seems reasonable.
I fail to see how this is a cost cutting measure. If anything it sounds like it would probably increase expenses. All of those employees driving to work, using campus electricity and water. The cost cutting thing to do would be to have all employees work from home to shift those costs on to the employee.
Software is about the easiest thing do remotely. Have/do you worked as a developer?Well, people here have been complaining about how buggy Apple software has been of late. You know, the period when Apple employees have been working away from campus…
indeed, they built a huge "look at me" building and now have to justify the cost to themselves.
heck, they have had to additional "bland" out buildings when they realised the big building wasn't appropriate for certain teams.
Just look at the profiles of all the pro-WFH commenters in this thread. They all simultaneously complain non stop about the increasing amount of software bugs and hardware issues and then also say we need MORE WFH. Talk about heads in the sand?
Id actually bet many of themselves are WFH and are posting our of their own fears as what's coming for them?
Im on Apples side on this one only because I fear the damage WFH has already done to the economy and life, will become irreversible.
Id actually bet many of themselves are WFH and are posting our of their own fears as what's coming for them?
Im on Apples side on this one only because I fear the damage WFH has already done to the economy and life, will become irreversible.
even if that were accurate (and i doubt it is), you seem to have evidence to support that bugs and issues are linked to where people work from? can you share that evidence?