[Real Beat] Apple's 'Sharp Blade' Appears in the Office

Dialogue Should Take Priority in Work Shift Transitions

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a shortened form of 'Jung Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a segment that showcases trends in the changing world of work.

Apple recently pulled out the 'layoff card.' In a time when mass layoffs are rampant among big tech companies, another round of layoffs might not seem like a big deal, but this time Apple targeted employees who did not return to the office.

Joe Schipper, editor of the US IT media Platformer, tweeted on the 23rd of last month (local time) that Apple announced it would issue warnings to employees who do not come to the office at least three days a week based on data. He added that some teams warned that failure to comply could result in termination. This comes one year after Apple CEO Tim Cook declared a phased introduction of a hybrid work plan in March last year.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The reason Apple took such an extreme approach regarding office attendance stems from an internal battle over the past year. After CEO Cook's announcement, a group of employees opposing the reduction of remote work, called 'Apple Together,' submitted a petition to the company. Key figures, including machine learning expert Ian Goodfellow, resigned. Due to strong backlash, the company postponed the office return date multiple times. Although a hybrid work system was introduced, it seems the company did not achieve the level of office return it desired, prompting the use of the layoff card.

Apple was excluded from Glassdoor's 'Top 100 Best Places to Work in 2023' list announced in January this year for the first time since 2009. Glassdoor analyzed that issues arising during the office return process likely had a significant impact. This implies that CEO Cook failed to gain employee empathy. Adding layoffs to this situation would only worsen the atmosphere.

Recently, domestic companies in Korea have begun reducing remote work. Like Apple, these companies have not been able to avoid conflicts with employees. The dominant reaction is surprise and confusion over sudden and unilateral company announcements.

Yanolja, a lodging platform, introduced a fully autonomous remote work system for all employees in 2020 and had stated it would not change the work style going forward. However, in February, Yanolja declared a shift to a hybrid work system. On the anonymous workplace community Blind, posts appeared accusing Yanolja of 'employment fraud' for promoting remote work as a benefit and then suddenly changing its stance. Complaints from employees who relocated to provincial areas due to the remote work policy continued, leading the company to postpone office attendance for residents outside the metropolitan area until next year. The management hurriedly held briefing sessions to calm employees.

This is just the beginning. There are many aspects of work coordination and numerous adjustments to be made in line with the gradually expanding changes in work systems. Above all, employees' perceptions will change. To ensure this process goes smoothly, dialogue must not be avoided. The company needs to persuade employees based on clear direction and logic, listen to their demands, and work together to find solutions.

Anthony Klotz, associate professor at University College London who coined the term 'Great Resignation' that swept the world during the COVID-19 period, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last December, "If a boss says, 'Let's have a conversation,' that itself sends a strong signal to employees that they are cared for," calling such actions an 'investment.' Hopefully, a sharp blade like Apple's layoff card will not appear in Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.