By Aaron Tilley

Apple Inc. is telling office staff to prepare to return to the workplace at least most of the time, joining the growing pool of companies adopting hybrid work.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, in an email to staff, told office employees that they are expected to return to their workspace three days a week starting in September. The iPhone maker said it wants most office workers to show up Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the option to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Technology news outlet The Verge earlier reported the back-to-office plans.

Apple already has gradually been reopening its retail stores around the world. In March, all of its 270 U.S. retail outlets welcomed back shoppers. In his note to employees, Mr. Cook said all stores in other markets would open their doors again by the end of the month.

Companies across industries are adopting plans to go back to the office, but many offering staff greater flexibility than pre-pandemic.

Technology rival Alphabet Inc.'s Google last month notified employees of its hybrid work plans, with employees going into an office three days a week and some likely to work remotely permanently. Microsoft Corp. in March said it was welcoming employees back to its headquarters, while offering them the ability to work from the office or home.

Hybrid work arrangements are becoming not just a way of working for some companies, but in several cases a business opportunity, fueling appetite for tools and equipment to facilitate having some employees in the office while others work remotely. Zoom Video Communications Inc. this week reported surging sales for some of the tools it offers to facilitate hybrid work.

Not all companies are ready to embrace hybrid work. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit last month that "We want people back at work and my view is some time in September, October, it will look just like it did before."

Some other companies aren't pushing employees to go back to the office at all. Spotify Technology SA in February adopted a "Work from Anywhere" model letting employees choose whether they want to return to an office, work from home or somewhere in between. And business-software provider Salesforce.com Inc. told employees they could choose if they wanted to return to the office again. "The 9-to-5 workday is dead" Brent Hyder, Salesforce's chief people officer said in a blog post earlier this year.

Write to Aaron Tilley at aaron.tilley@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-03-21 1455ET