Apple is encouraging its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by offering paid time off for appointments and paid sick leave for those experiencing side effects, according to a new report by Bloomberg.
The report explains that Apple has also informed staff it does not have access to vaccines:
In December, Tim Cook informed Apple staff that most employees would continue working remotely through June 2021, but he left the door open to remote work still playing a part in Apple’s workflows:
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant also told staff in recent weeks that it does not have access to vaccines and is not providing shots itself to workers, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
Last week, Apple’s CEO also spoke with People about working from home:
“There’s no replacement for face-to-face collaboration, but we have also learned a great deal about how we can get our work done outside of the office without sacrificing productivity or results,” he told staff, according to people familiar with the comments. “All of these learnings are important. When we’re on the other side of this pandemic, we will preserve everything that is great about Apple while incorporating the best of our transformations this year.”
It’s unclear when Apple workers will be coming back from working from home to their offices, but Cook made it clear that he wants the transition to begin as soon as it’s safe to do so.
“My gut says that, for us, it’s still very important to physically be in touch with one another because collaboration isn’t always a planned activity. Innovation isn’t always a planned activity. It’s bumping into each other over the course of the day and advancing an idea that you just had. And you really need to be together to do that.”
