Apple, it’s time to drop the mask
Apple is once again dropping the mask requirement in its stores, except for one key group.
I’m as interested in politics as the next person, but my commitment with this newsletter/column is that it’s not to be a forum for me to talk about politics, except in specific cases where the topic intersects with Apple. Such is the case today where I’m going to talk about masks in Apple stores. Masks have been a divisive topic over the course of the last couple of years, and I recognize that not everyone shares my opinion on masking and COVID. My ask is this: read all the way to the end, hear me out, and if you choose to comment (which I welcome!) do so in a mature, respectful manner.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is once again dropping mask requirements in its retail stores. From Mark Gurman’s piece Tuesday:
The company announced the changes this week to employees at eligible stores and has updated its website to reflect which locations are no longer requiring masks. Apple, however, will continue to recommend that customers wear masks and will provide them upon request. Apple retail workers will still be required to wear masks, employees say.
I can confirm that my local Apple store’s website has been updated to reflect this change in policy. If Gurman’s right that Apple employees will still be required to wear masks even though Apple isn’t requiring them of customers, that’s pretty awful. I’m not arguing that Apple should prevent its employees from wearing a mask if they want to, but forcing its employees to wear masks even when its customers aren’t required to is frankly an awful way for the company to treat its employees. Apple is hardly alone in this. Here in the Nashville area where I live, most retail locations don’t require masks, and most customers choose not to wear them. But at nearly all of the retail outlets owned by major corporations, the employees are required to wear masks. This is reprehensible. Extend the same treatment to your employees that you do to your customers.
This matters to me because I spent over seven years working in Apple retail, and I know how challenging and draining that can be. I can’t imagine having to do it all day in a face mask. Apple’s long-stated view is that its soul is its people. It needs to demonstrate that by giving its employees the same liberty it’s allowing its customers.
Apple, let your employees choose whether or not they want to wear a mask at work.