[least]

While there are many meaningful advantages and benefits from working with other people in a common area, very little of those benefits are passed on to people who simply don’t want to be there.

Forcing people who would prefer to work from home is mostly to the benefit of those that thrive in a social environment. Extraverts that have benefited from the status quo will largely want to return to it, regardless of any particular employee’s inclinations to stay working from home.

I don’t think “leaving it up to the employee” is necessarily the best option, either. You’re creating problems potentially in either circumstance.

For a corporation as large as Apple it seems foolish to make a policy like this company-wide when it’s pretty clear that individual teams should probably make this decision as a group.

[dagmx]

Per the letter, that is precisely what they're asking for. It's not asking for a blanket statement to make it up to each employee, but rather to make it up acceptable for teams to have remote employees if they so choose.

Also to collect the information regarding how the lack of remote work factors in to hiring/churn to then further allow those teams to make decisions

[rangoon626]

I am extroverted and I never want to go back to an office again.

Yes some people need the office to socialize, but I personally have probably a few too many hobbies and probably an oversized Dunbar number. I really don't need office culture "perks" playtime.

I strongly feel that hobbies and community are the answer, not onsite white collar office work, lol.