Tech companies' in-person work are facing pushback from employees who would rather find a new position than return to the office, The Wall Street Journal reported May 14.
According to a survey of more than 32,000 workers by ADP Research Institute, two-thirds of the workforce said they would find a new job if required to return to the office full-time. Of those who quit their jobs in 2021, 35 percent cited wanting to move to a different area, according to the Pew Research Center.
Office mandates have begun for Big Tech companies like Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft, leaving employees with the choice of moving back home and commuting to the office again, or holding out for a compromise or new job.
Ian Goodfellow, a director of machine learning at Apple, resigned because of the company's return-to-office policy, but he isn't the only one pushing the company to reconsider.
About 1,400 current and former employees from the company signed an open letter to Apple executives asking for them to reconsider the office-return policy, which requires employees to work in-person on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays as of last month.
"Stop treating us like school kids who need to be told when to be where and what homework to do," the letter reads.
As workers in tech are highly sought-after in nearly every industry, companies have had to accommodate their workers and in some cases, hold off on in-office requirements in order to keep talent.