Amazon has recently empowered managers to fire employees that won’t return to the office for at least three days a week. Amazon let its workforce know that they would be expected to be in office 60% of the time, about six months ago. “Collaborating and inventing is easier and more effective when we’re in person,” CEO Andy Jassy wrote in an internal memo. “The energy and riffing on one another’s ideas happen more freely.” Now a clear structure has been outlined for disciplinary action, for those who do not comply. According to reports published in Fortune, the new updates have instructed managers to have one-on-one conversations with any employees that don’t meet the minimum return to office (RTO) requirements. And terminating employees who won’t comply is part of the program.
Amazon Return To Office Met with Resistance
Amazon employees have not shared management’s enthusiasm for the return to office initiatives. Over 28,000 Amazon workers joined an internal Slack channel called “Remote Advocacy”. Petitions were signed by thousands, and a walkout occurred in Seattle, near the company’s headquarters, with participants joining in from London, Brussels, Chicago and Miami (among other cities). Entrepreneur says that workers were used to the company’s flexible work options. As a result, the return has been painful for many, and impossible for some. “By arbitrarily forcing return-to-office without providing data to support it and despite clear evidence that it is the wrong decision for employees, Amazon has failed its role as earth’s best employer,” one employee wrote, according to the report.
Amazon created programs, called Pivot and Focus, to help align employees with desired behaviors. These performance improvement plans offered daunting options for employees who were selected. Workers created another Slack channel to address their concerns around the challenges presented as part of their employment. According to Insider, this Slack channel had over 2,000 members, and was recently deleted by the company.
Amazon Reacts and Advocates for Return to Office
Amazon spokesperson Rob Munoz told FOX Business, “Now that we have several months under our belts with the vast majority of employees in the office more frequently, there’s more energy, connection and collaboration, and we’re hearing that from employees and the businesses that surround our offices.”
Munoz continued, “As is the case with any of our policies, we expect our team to follow them and will take appropriate action if someone chooses not to do that.”
And Amazon is not alone, as Disney, Google and Apple have all implemented return-to-office initiatives – along with thousands of other lesser-known companies. So, what’s the big deal with coming back to the office?
Is Return to Office (RTO) an Unreasonable Request?
For remote workers, shifting back into the office involves greater inconvenience. The flexibility of remote or hybrid work created greater efficiency and output, for many. Employees want to know: why turn your back on a good thing?
According to Comparably, the median wage for Amazon office employees is $180,145 per year. Many folks surveyed rank their compensation and benefits in the top 20% of “similar sized companies”, according to the report. Is that enough of an incentive to drive to an office?
Businesses have the ability to dictate policy, pay and yes, where work gets done. And employees can accept, or reject, those terms. That sort of matter-of-fact explanation doesn’t take into consideration the nuances of childcare, long commutes, and the number of other Fortune 500 companies in the Seattle metro area (just to pull a few decision-impacting criteria into the mix). For Amazon employees, acceptance makes things easier – if not necessarily easy.
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser tells Fortune, “We’re always listening and will continue to do so, but we’re happy with how the first month of having more people back in the office has been.” Returning to the office is going to be a challenge for the near future. Because it’s easier to have never had something, than to be given something and have it taken away. That’s what makes the transition tough. Employees will argue that location isn’t necessary for performance, and the pandemic proved that point. But employers, like Amazon, remain firm. “If you can’t disagree and commit [to return to the office], it’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon,” Glasser concluded.
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