Apple employees are currently being instructed to work from home if possible. But this only works for a very small number of them.
Apple has closed all Apple Stores outside of China for two weeks due to the coronavirus crisis. Tim Cook announced this in an open letter confirmedThe company has also instructed other employees in advance to work from home if the workplace allows it. But that is precisely the problem. According to a new Wall Street Journal report, work is not possible due to secrecy and unclear guidelines - a problem that is not unique to Apple. The report explains that the biggest problem for Apple is maintaining the focus on secrecy with a remote team. The WSJ claims to have learned from Apple software developers that there are no clear internal rules about which work should be done remotely. For example, there is a lack of access rights to internal systems that are important for the actual work. The report:
In recent days, software developers sent home by Apple CEO Tim Cook have complained of slow download speeds and growing confusion over still-evolving new internal rules about what work they are allowed to do - employees say. Some employees are unable to access key internal systems from home because of strict security policies designed to ward off outsiders - that now includes employees outside the company.
Apple engineers continue to work on site
In addition to software developers, there are also engineers who must continue working on Apple campus because they are working on products that are not allowed to leave the premises. However, Apple has introduced a new protective measure for these employees. According to the report, "daily health checks" are being conducted at the security desk. The post states:
Although Apple has encouraged employees to stay away from the office for health reasons, many engineers say they continue to come to headquarters and heed the company's policy that prohibits removing unapproved products from campus. The company has relaxed some security restrictions but maintains them on any software that could reveal the nature of the banned projects, employees say.
In fact, the home office issue is no surprise. Apple's corporate culture is simply not designed for employees to work from home, as they focus on secrecy, presentations, and other important factors. So far, it is unclear how long companies like Apple will actually recommend home office, unless they find a solution to adapt internal policies to the current situation in order to improve teleworking. (Image: Apple)
