Tim Cook Offers Work From Home to Most Apple Staff Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Apple CEO Tim Cook has today offered employees at most of its global offices the ability to work from home, and announced new policies in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

1400x 1Image via David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Employees at several global offices have been told to "feel free to work remotely if your job allows,” for the week of March 9 to 13, according to an internal memo that was obtained by Bloomberg and later confirmed by an Apple spokesman.

This extends the company’s policy from Friday, which encouraged employees in California and Seattle to work remotely, to almost all of Apple's corporate locations in South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the U.K.

In addition to this, Apple is now implementing new efforts to expand deep cleaning procedures and maximize interpersonal space. Fewer places will be available at Today at Apple sessions and the Genius Bar to reduce human density in Apple stores.

On the corporate side, Apple is rolling out managerial changes to prevent the spread of coronavirus for employees who still have to come in due to the demands of their work.

In line with other major tech companies, Apple has guaranteed that it will continue to pay hourly contract workers their normal wages globally.

Apple has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus given its global presence and supply chain based in China, resulting in major stock price fluctuation. There have been reports of iPhone shortages and analysts predict that the upcoming 5G iPhone may now be delayed.

Top Rated Comments

kasakka Avatar
53 months ago
As a developer it is unfathomable for me at this point to not be able to work from wherever I want. Of course I go to the office or client's office if they want me there or for meetings but for most office jobs there should not be a restriction that you have to sit at your designated office cubicle every day of the week.

By being able to work from home I can take a more relaxed breakfast as I don't have to get dressed up and commute and also start to work earlier which means I can stop working earlier too, leaving me with more free time to spend on my hobbies which leads to less stress.

Working from home all the time is not good for mental health though as you do need to get out and talk to people from time to time. But it's important to have the option. Apple is offering what should be a standard way to work in an office environment.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
53 months ago

Just for the week? That’s nice, but they should maybe do it for the remainder of the month considering infections are only increasing.

It’s too bad that people go to work despite being sick because they don’t have sick hours available and have to make money. Oh the world we live in.
Presumably they will extend it as facts on the ground dictate.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Emanuel Rodriguez Avatar
53 months ago
All wise precautions. It's nice to see sane, rational thinking like this, given how much hysteria has been rampant lately.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
53 months ago
Just for the week? That’s nice, but they should maybe do it for the remainder of the month considering infections are only increasing.

It’s too bad that people go to work despite being sick because they don’t have sick hours available and have to make money. Oh the world we live in.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m0sher Avatar
53 months ago
This is a very productive tool to save money for companies who can because you’ll have less sick days and tax breaks from states who support this.

Not to mention environmental benefit, all the traffic and omissions you save by people not having to daily commute. As well as less oil dependency from other countries.

Skype your business meetings.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
53 months ago

Not in the vast majority of corporate and government jobs. Your supervisor/manager decides.
This is Apple, not whatever company you are talking about. They are not a government entity either, so not sure why you raise that.

In any event, in each of the four Silicon Valley companies I’ve worked at, the “it’s ok to work at home if need be” policy has always been based on the employee determining whether he or she can get his or her work done. After all, if so, why force them to come in?

sorry you are employed at a less rationally-run business.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....