Amazon: Andy Says Go Back To Work

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has demanded that the majority of the company's 300,000 corporate workforce return to the office, spending at least three days on-site each week. During the pandemic, different parts of the business have followed different rules, with warehouse staff working full-time in person and corporate group employees working remotely or in a hybrid model. However, a blanket change is now incoming for all Amazon staff, as well as other companies such as would-be Microsoft acquisition Activision Blizzard.

Jassy wrote, "It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly three years since the pandemic began, and we recommended that all our employees who were able to work from home do so. We subsequently updated guidance a few times, with the last guidance (in the second half of 2021) being that Director-level leaders would decide for their teams where they'd work, and we'd experiment for the next chunk of time. Because the pandemic lasted as long as it did, we were able to observe various models - some teams working exclusively from home, some in the office full-time together, and many flavors of hybrid - over a meaningful period of time. S-team listened to employees, watched how our teams performed, talked to leaders at other companies, and got together on several occasions to discuss if and how we should adjust our approach. The guiding principle in these conversations was to prioritize what would best enable us to make customers' lives better and easier every day, and relentlessly invent to do so. Our respective views of what we thought was optimal evolved as the pandemic wore on and then eased."

Jassy cited the benefits of in-person work, such as being able to learn, model, practice, and strengthen the company's culture. He noted that working in-person allows for greater learning and mentorship opportunities, particularly for newer employees who may be disadvantaged by not having these opportunities. Amazon is not alone in expressing productivity concerns with remote work, as other tech giants such as Google and Salesforce have also discussed these issues. Jassy argued that being in-person allows for greater engagement, observation, and attentiveness to cultural cues during meetings. In-person interactions also facilitate collaboration, invention, and the sharing of new ideas. Furthermore, being in the same office allows for the building of better relationships between co-workers, which can lead to faster problem-solving.

Although Amazon's back-to-office mandate shows some flexibility by requiring employees to be on-site for three days a week, it is still one more day than what most readers of The Register consider appropriate. Nonetheless, Jassy remains optimistic about the positive impact that this change will have on the company's growth, success, and customer service. However, the impact of remote work on individuals remains mixed, with some experiencing burnout while others appreciate the better work-life balance.