USA: Apple staff members retaliated against the tech company's return-to-office orders and started a petition, claiming that by limiting their ability to work remotely, the company ran the risk of stifling diversity and staff wellbeing.

The petition is in response to a memo sent last week to all employees by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who stated that starting in September, employees would be required to work at least three days a week, including Tuesdays, Thursdays, and a third day to be decided by individual teams.

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Cook said the proposal would "enhance" the company's ability to work flexibly, "while preserving the in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture," and is looser than earlier proposals that would have required staff to report every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

However, a group of employees going by the name Apple Together have circulated a petition opposing Cook's directives, arguing that more flexibility would encourage diversity within the business.

According to the Financial Times, the Apple petition stated that "we believe that Apple should encourage, not prohibit, flexible work to build a more diverse and successful company where we can feel comfortable to "think different" together." The petition further stated that the mandate failed to recognise how "happier and more productive" employees were under less conventional working conditions.

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Are you an Apple worker who works in an office? How do you feel about the RTO (return to office) mandate? Sign the petition, let's stand together, the group urged in a tweet on Monday that included a link to the petition.

This week, Apple Together reportedly plans to gather signatures, verify them, and then send them to executives at iPhone manufacturers.

Apple has maintained its position that it expected employees to return to in-person work over the long term, in contrast to other tech companies like Twitter and Facebook that adopted policies at the beginning of the pandemic that allowed staff to work permanently from home.

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A high-level employee at least left the company as a result of Apple's position. Ian Goodfellow, director of machine learning at Apple, informed his colleagues in May that he was moving to Google in part because of the company's more adaptable work environment. According to reports, Goodfellow told staff members, "I strongly believe that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team."