Source: ARStechinca

RETURN TO OFFICE OR THE CLASSIFIEDS? —

“My morale for this job is gone…”

An overwhelming majority of Amazon employees are “dissatisfied” with Amazon killing remote work and requiring them to be in the office five days a week next year. That’s according to a survey of 2,585 employees by Blind, an online community where verified employees can discuss their work culture anonymously.

Since May, Amazon employees have been able to work remotely up to twice per week—a policy that Amazon has reportedly enforced by keeping track of badge swipes and how many hours workers spend in offices.

On September 16, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent a memo to employees stating that Amazon would require most workers to come into the office five days a week at the start of 2025. “We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective,” the memo said.

From September 17 to 19, Blind surveyed 2,585 “verified Amazon professionals” (Blind says that it verifies employees via email addresses) in the US with yes or no questions about the policy and found widespread disapproval. In mid-2021, Amazon employed about 1 million people in the US, per an earnings report. In 2023, regulatory filings said Amazon had 1.5 million full- and part-time workers.

In a blog post this week, Blind underscored some notable comments posted on its platform about the return-to-office (RTO) policy. One Amazon employee wrote on Blind, “My morale for this job is gone, gonna totally check out…”

There are similar discussions elsewhere on the web, with some saying that the policy is unjust because they were hired as a remote worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have called for—or skeptically hoped for—mass resignations.

Per Blind, 73 percent of Amazon workers surveyed said they are “considering looking for another job” due to the RTO policy.

Further, 80 percent of workers said that they know someone at Amazon who’s considering job hunting due to the policy. Interestingly, 32 percent of employees reported that they already know someone who quit in response to the impending five-day, in-office work week.

Blind also noted that some of its users pointed to people dropping out of job interviews because Amazon won’t allow remote work.

Some reported employees have taken to online communities, like Reddit, responding to the RTO policy with fear that Amazon is looking to reduce headcount. Notably, a March survey by BambooHR of 1,504 full-time US employees, including 504 human resources (HR) workers, found that some companies enacted RTO policies to make people quit. This was affirmed by 25 percent of VP and C-suite executives and 18 percent of HR pros surveyed.

“Dejected”

Others online are showing frustration with what they say feels like limited options from Amazon. For example, Reddit user OhNolBoffedIt wrote:

My team is already decentralized and spread across the globe, but sure, making me drive into an office none of my coworkers sit in 5 days a week is not only a good use of my time, but it’s great for the environment. Woo Climate Pledge.

As some might have expected, Amazon’s HR announcement is forcing some workers to make big decisions, like whether they’ll move or alter their family dynamics and schedules. One worker Blind’s blog post highlighted said they “feel dejected about this 5 day RTO,” adding:

Decisions like the one from Jassy are a big reason why I don’t want kids. I don’t need others to impose rules that ruin my quality of life.

The shift in policy comes as Amazon is also facing pressure from workers for higher wages. The conglomerate said that it would make exceptions to its RTO policy for family emergencies, workers with sick children, and coding assignments requiring isolation.

“The advantages of being together in the office are significant,” Jassy wrote in the memo. “If anything, the last 15 months… has strengthened our conviction about the benefits.”

Jassy’s memo said that part of the reason for shifting to fully in-person work is to “operate like the world’s largest startup.” However, there have been recent studies suggesting that RTO mandates hurt employee productivity and retention and hurt employee morale while failing to drive company value. Big names like Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX reportedly lost senior talent due to RTO policies.