Apple Inc. has asked workers to start working from the office from September onwards this year with remote working as still an option.

Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple said employees should begin returning to offices in early September for at least three days a week.

Previously the company was asking the staff to return as early as June, but the company pushed that back to September. The company is planning the return of employees quoting the availability of vaccinations and declining coronavirus infection rates.

The employees will work from the office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from September onwards. Apart from these three days, work-from-office is optional. The teams whose presence in the office is crucial will be operating for five days from the office.

Tim Cook said, “We are setting consistent days in the office to help us optimize our time for in-person collaboration.”

Many Apple teams in the Asia and Pacific regions have already returned to offices and factories, and that the remaining closed retail stores will reopen this month, as reported by the company.

In an official communication, Cook called the return to offices a “pilot” effort that will be re-evaluated in 2022. “As the world’s most innovative company, I believe we have a special obligation to get this right,” Cook said. “I am very excited about the opportunity that we have to come together in new ways and chart a new path in the era ahead.”