Apple did it wonderfully

To what extent is teleworking recommended? For many people, this is essential, even preferring to charge less rather than return to the office. Beyond the search for the best benefit for the company, a final study focuses on whether 100% teleworking is good for our way of socializing. With its peak in the years 2020 and 2021, the debate is now whether to choose a hybrid and total work model or, on the contrary, to return completely to the office.

The magic formula: 2-3 days of teleworking

According to a public health study, the perfect balance is teleworking two to three days a week. This hybrid model appears to be the key to maximizing job satisfaction and take care of our mental health. The reason? Simple: it offers flexibility without falling into the isolation that working 100% remotely can cause.

One of the biggest challenges of working remotely is learning to disconnect. When your office is your home, How do you know when to “leave work”? This is where the hybrid model shines: it gives you the best of both worlds. Oddly enough, even some young people are looking favorably at returning to the office. The reason? Be able to socialize and make a clear difference between work time and personal time. “I’m leaving the office and goodbye to work.”

The study highlights that working only from home or never doing so tends to have negative effects.

• Fully remote work This can lead to feelings of isolation and work conflicts due to communication problems, in addition to having difficulty separating work and personal responsibilities. It takes a lot more self-control to work effectively.
• Work entirely from the office This can lead to more stress and a lot of wasted time traveling and money for additional office expenses: gas, food, etc.

For this reason, teleworking three days a week It is postulated as a way to balance the two worlds, according to the study carried out. This approach appears to improve worker well-being, even if many don’t initially see it that way. Of course, there are exceptions, but being hand-in-hand with colleagues benefits you personally and professionally.

At Apple they chose this 2 + 3 model and it worked for them

In the 80s, Steve Jobs was already talking about the benefits of teleworking. Today, more than 40 years later, we face a real challenge of social and economic change. Apple has adopted a hybrid model which allows its employees to benefit from the advantages of teleworking, without losing this in-person collaboration with their colleagues. For Apple, this is the key to innovation. However, this decision was not free from conflicts.

At Apple, they implemented a hybrid model after several labor disputes. In 2022, a hybrid work policy was put in place which requires company employees to work in the office three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and a third variable day) and authorizes two days of teleworking. This decision came after several delays due to ongoing controversies:

• In May 2022, a group of employees called “Apple Together” released an open letter criticizing the policyarguing that remote working offered greater inclusiveness and flexibility.
• Some high-level employees, like director of machine learning engineering Ian Goodfellow, They left the company citing return-to-office policies as the main reason.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the policy at a conference, saying that in-person collaboration is essential for company culture and product creation.
• The company uses an ID card system to control office attendance, which has generated concerns among certain employees about privacy.

Despite the criticism, Apple has managed to maintain its position, arguing that the hybrid model is crucial to maintaining innovationcorporate culture and the mental health of workers, as the study we talked about in today’s article says.

Everything indicates that balance is the key

The study clearly shows that the future of work may lie in finding a balance between working from home and being in the office. TWorking two to three days from home seems to be the formula to maintain our job satisfaction and mental health. Large companies will lead the way and Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Google have mixed models. One of the few companies to have completely reversed teleworking is X (the former Twitter), and in general all of Elon Musk’s companies, with the possibility of teleworking under the express agreement of the manager.

Cover image | free pik

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