Apple Increases Work Scheduling Commitments for Retail Store Employees

ifoAppleStore reports that Apple will be adjusting its scheduling practices for retail store employees as of April 15th, placing greater weekend demands on its full-time workers and requiring greater weekly commitments from its part-time staff. The moves come as traffic at Apple stores continues to rise and the company seeks to bolster staff presence during the busiest times.

apple retail employees
According to the report, while Apple has been requiring many of its full-time staff to work one of the two weekend days per week, the company is now redefining Friday as a weekend day and requiring Specialists, Creatives, and Geniuses to work two out of the three weekend days per week.

Soon, Apple will add Friday to its official list of “weekend days,” and full-timers must work two of those three days, or possibly a shift that includes both Saturday and Sunday. The changes will affect Family Room and Red Zone Specialists, Creatives and Geniuses, and seems to stem from a recognition of increased store traffic on Fridays.

For part-timers, Apple will be requiring a minimum weekly commitment of 24 hours, up from 16 hours. The change will potentially squeeze those workers who have multiple jobs or other commitments that led them to join the Apple store on a part-time basis in the first place.

The report suggests that Apple will be trying to do a better job of accommodating requests for time off, hoping to soften the blow of the increased commitments, but the company does realize that it may lose some of its staff, particularly part-time workers, due to the changes.

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Top Rated Comments

G.I. Joe Avatar
178 months ago
What about hiring more staff? Ain't that an option? After all it's the wealthiest company in the world... :)
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ljmac Avatar
178 months ago
What about hiring more staff? Ain't that an option? After all it's the wealthiest company in the world... :)

Think this has more to do with having knowledgeable staff around when store is busy.:)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OneMike Avatar
178 months ago
Would think hiring more people would've been a better choice.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dubprocess Avatar
178 months ago
Working Apple retail is horrific but it can lead to many other opportunities if you play your cards right. I worked as a "Genius" for years and thankfully escaped with my dignity remaining. I now work as an IT analyst for a private company and am never looking back. Yes its retail and it sucks, but you gotta be smart and work your way out with an intuitive exit plan.

Best of luck to the Apple employees who really love their jobs and who give their best everyday. I gotta admit Apple Retail work-life balance is the worst I have ever experienced out of any retail job. Because so many people want to work at Apple, the ball is in Apple's court.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMNB1tch Avatar
178 months ago
they absolutely need to hire more staff

and fire the do nothing middle and store managers who hide in the back offices rather than sell things on the floor
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aprofetto8 Avatar
178 months ago
And I applied for a job and have heard nothing back. :(

That's rough. I'd send an email to Tim Cook.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)