On Tuesday, September 15 CEO of Amazon Andy Jassy made the controversial call in a surprise memo calling employees back to the office full time and ending the work from home stint that Covid-19 introduced. The policy will be put into effect in January.
The decision comes as a surprise from an analytical standpoint as the number of firms requiring employees to be in the office five days a week has fallen by 15% from a year ago, according to data from Flex Index, which tracks the work policies of more than 6,300 companies.
Many Americans have grown comfortable with remote work and the flexibility working from home gives them, citing improved work-life balance and increased productivity due to eliminating commuting. Amazon’s policy shift has sparked discussions about employee morale and retention, especially as many companies continue to offer hybrid options as a benefit in attracting new talent.
Under Jassy’s decision, Amazon joins a small list of employers such as UPS, Boeing, Goldman Sachs as companies that are asking at least some employees back in the office every weekday.
Many companies would like to go back to in-office work, because of this, all eyes will be on if employees will stand for Amazon's new policy. Tony Carr, a former Amazon general manager feels this was a move to layoff more employees, which he voiced in a post on LinkedIn, “The fact he didn’t use the word ‘layoffs’ doesn’t change the meaning of the lengthy email he sent to company employees explaining a fresh round of flagrantly unpopular and alienating policy changes.”
A report from Flex Index revealed that 79% of tech companies provide flexible work policies, with only 3% requiring full-time in-office attendance. Whether that percentage decreases will largely depend on observing Amazon’s in the coming months.
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