Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is Urged to Drop Return-to-Office Mandate to Employees‍

CEO Andy Jassy is being urged by Amazon employees to reconsider his return-to-office policy.

‍

As part of the announcement made by Jassy last week, Amazon will require its corporate employees to spend at least three days of the week in the office beginning on May 1. It appears that Amazon will be rolling back its pandemic-era flexibility for remote work after the company's executive team, known as the S-team, and Jassy decided it would be easier for employees to collaborate and invent together in person, while also strengthening the company's culture as well.

‍

The move represents a shift from Amazon's previous policy, which was last updated in October 2021, where managers had the discretion to determine how frequently their teams needed to be in the office. There has been a mix of fully remote work among Amazon's white-collar employees as well as hybrid work among its white-collar employees since then.

‍

Staffers at the company created a Slack channel on Friday in an attempt to advocate for remote work and share their concerns regarding the new return-to-work policy, according to screenshots viewed by Trade Algo. The Slack channel had been joined by almost 14,000 employees as of Tuesday morning.

‍

Additionally, employees have drafted a petition for leadership to drop the new policy, addressed to Jassy and the S-team, calling for leadership to drop it, in light of Amazon's commitment to diversity and inclusion, affordable housing, and sustainability, as well as its goal of being the "Earth's Best Employer."

‍

“We, the undersigned, urge Amazon to end its RTO policy immediately in order to maintain its reputation as a global leader in retail and technology.” According to a draft of the petition, previously reported by Business Insider, it allows employees to work remotely or more flexibly, if they choose to do so, depending on their team and job role.

‍

Regarding return-to-office guidance, an Amazon spokesperson pointed to Jassy's blog post.

‍

As the employees pointed out, Jassy had previously stated that there is no "one-size-fits-all approach" to how a team should work and that remote work offers many advantages.

‍

In a draft of the petition, it states that "many employees trusted these statements and planned their lives so that they would not be required to return to the workplace," and "They lost their trust in Amazon's leaders as a result of the RTO mandate."

‍

Several employees, who moved during the pandemic or were hired for a remote position, are concerned about the effects that the new policy will have on them, according to an anonymous employee who asked to remain anonymous. During the past three years, Amazon's employee count has ballooned and the company has hired more people outside of its key tech hubs such as Seattle, New York, and Northern California as it embraces a more distributed workforce.

‍

Despite Jassy's comments that there will be "a small minority of exceptions" to the new policies for remote employees, Amazon hasn't provided any further details regarding whether remote employees will be required to relocate.

‍

It is stated in the petition that internal data indicates that a significant share of employees prefer working from home with the option of a monthly sync-up in the office, or they prefer working in the office at the most one to two days a week. There is also proof that remote work increases productivity, and that companies such as Amazon can reduce their expenses, as well as attract and retain top talent as a result of remote work.

‍

It also notes that a return to mostly in-person work could have a negative impact on employees' work-life balance and that this could be especially detrimental to parents, minorities, caregivers, and people with disabilities. There was also a disagreement among employees over Amazon's justification for forcing in-person work in all cases no matter what. Some employees who are part of global teams will come into the office only to continue taking virtual meetings, despite the fact that they may not even have a coworker at their office whenever they come into the office, according to the petition.