Apple has pushed back its office reopening date by a month due to concerns over the surging Delta coronavirus variant. 

According to The New York Times, Apple has set Oct. 1 as its new return-to-office date. An unnamed source told the newspaper that date could shift again if infections rise. 

Apple plans on a hybrid workweek for most of its employees, who will be expected to head into the office three days per week (Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays). “For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other,” Apple CEO Tim Cook recently wrote in the email, as reprinted in The Verge. “I know I’m not alone in missing the hum of activity, the energy, creativity and collaboration of our in-person meetings and the sense of community we’ve all built.”

Apple isn’t the only company embracing hybrid work. Amazon executives have said they expect employees to readapt to an “office-centric” culture, with most of the workforce returning to their desks by the fall. Google has also committed to a hybrid model that will bring employees to the office for three days per week. That stands in contrast to other tech giants, most notably Twitter, that have committed to giving employees the option of all-remote work. 

Dice’s Tech Sentiment Report showed that, in the second quarter of 2021, some 85 percent of technologists found the prospect of hybrid work anywhere from somewhat to extremely desirable, slightly ahead of the 80 percent who preferred full-time (100 percent) remote work. Younger technologists seem to appreciate the chance to collaborate (and receive mentorship) in-person. Those kinds of stats are good news for companies that have decided to bet big on the hybrid work model as the way of the future.