Photo source: NBC News
Amazon employees are expressing their discontent regarding the company’s recent decision to end remote work as they urge the management to reconsider this policy.
According to a survey highlighted by Fortune, numerous Amazon workers indicated that the newly implemented requirement for employees to be in the office five days a week will have a detrimental impact on both their professional and personal lives.
The survey, initiated by the employees themselves, revealed an average satisfaction score of just 1.4 on a scale from one to five, where one represents strong dissatisfaction and five indicates strong satisfaction.
One participant noted, “I work with people across many time zones. With RTO, they no longer have the flexibility to easily shift hours and collaborate. 3 day had an instant impact here, and 5 day will only be worse.”
Others pointed out that remote work allowed them more time for their tasks since they were not spending hours commuting. Following the announcement of this policy change, some employees reported considering new job opportunities.
“Amazon has announced 5 day RTO, which is unfortunate because I’m interested in working for a living, not live-action role playing and virtue signalling. If you have remote opportunities available, please message me. Nothing is off the table. I’d rather go back to school than work in an office again,” stated CJ Felli, a systems development engineer at Amazon Web Services, via LinkedIn.
The recent wave of dissatisfaction coincides with Amazon’s termination of another remote work option that allowed employees to work from any location within their country for four weeks each year. Initially, the company had announced that this program would conclude but did not specify when it would take effect. However, it later clarified that the program would end immediately.
In response to these changes, one worker remarked to a publication, “They don’t want us here,” suggesting that the new policy may be a strategy to encourage employees to leave and reduce the workforce.
CEO Andy Jassy stated that he believes the revised policy, which is set to take effect on January 2, 2025, will better position Amazon “to invent, collaborate, and be connected enough to each other and our culture to deliver the absolute best for customers and the business.”
