NEW YORK — Amazon employees have been expressing their concerns about the company’s return-to-office policy, and CEO Andy Jassy has addressed the issue during an internal Q&A session. Jassy emphasized the importance of “disagreeing and committing” with the policy, which requires corporate employees to be in the office three days a week. This phrase is one of Amazon’s leadership principles, frequently used by its founder and current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos. Jassy stated that it is unfair for some employees to be in the office while others refuse to do so.
Business Insider initially reported Jassy’s comments, which were later shared by Amazon. The current office attendance mandate, implemented in May, represents a shift from Amazon’s previous policy that allowed leaders to determine their teams’ work arrangements. However, Amazon clarified that the prior policy was not intended to be the norm and highlighted Jassy’s blog post from 2021, where he mentioned the company’s willingness to make adjustments based on new information.
Jassy explained that the decision to update the policy was influenced by observing successful practices during the pandemic and consulting with leaders from other companies. He noted that in-person interactions tend to foster greater engagement and collaboration among employees. Despite this rationale, many workers remain unconvinced. In May, hundreds of Amazon employees protested the new policy at the company’s Seattle headquarters, and an internal Slack channel advocating for remote work amassed 33,000 members.
Some employees have requested data to support Jassy’s claims. During the Q&A session, Jassy mentioned that the company’s leadership analyzed available data and found that meetings were less effective when conducted remotely. He acknowledged that Amazon has made significant decisions in the past without perfect data, citing examples like the launch of its online marketplace for sellers and its cloud computing unit, AWS.
In addition to the return-to-office policy, Amazon has also implemented a requirement for some employees in smaller offices to relocate to larger city offices, according to multiple media reports. With 1.4 million employees worldwide, Amazon does not disclose the exact number of office-based workers compared to those in warehouses and other facilities.