Last year, the Tech Giant Amazon tightened its remote work policies, which led to staff protests. The protest organisers were fired immediately, after which the protest ended. Now, the company is ending remote work and calling staff back to the office for 5 days.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent a memo to company staff revealing that the change will go into effect in January. He also expressed his concerns about Amazon’s corporate culture. Andy said the company had set up a bureaucratic mailbox for staff to report irrelevant rules and requested managers to reorganise teams. Andy also mentioned that team reorganisation can cause job cuts, which will be communicated at the team level.
Previously, Amazon staff were allowed to work from home twice a week, but now they have to come to the office every five days. In addition, Amazon is reinstating assigned desk arrangements.
Andy Jassy also shared that remote work will be allowed for exceptional circumstances like caring for an ill kid or dealing with a home emergency. However, he also clarified, “Our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances.”
One of the best OTT platforms, Amazon’s announcement to end remote work has created immense tension in the company. It employs over 1.5 million people worldwide in full—and part-time positions, who are now not ready to come to the office regularly as they did before.
In the memo shared with Amazon staff, Andy Jassy said that the company’s experience with the shift to hybrid policies had strengthened the conviction about the benefits of working in person. He also added that this move will help staff to collaborate and connect with each other better.
