A sensitive issue: Are you one of the many individuals who would rather quit their job than return to the office? Well, it seems that Amazon is facing a significant challenge as several employees are leaving due to its strict return-to-office policy.
A recent report by Business Insider reveals that Amazon has been experiencing a surge in resignations as a result of its inflexible return-to-office mandate.
While it’s always a contentious move for companies to end full-time remote work policies, Amazon has faced an exceptional amount of resistance. The initial announcement led to an employee petition in February, which was ultimately rejected, and it was also a contributing factor to a walkout later in the year.
The situation was further exacerbated by another Amazon policy introduced in July, which requires certain corporate employees to relocate to other cities near their team’s central “hub” offices.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made it clear that any employee who refuses to return to the office for at least three days per week will face consequences: “It’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon,” he stated in August.
In an internal Slack channel called Remote Advocacy, dedicated to discussions about the return-to-hub mandate, one member expressed, “This is my last week at Amazon, and my only reason for leaving is the return-to-hub policy.”
It is speculated that the increase in resignations is linked to the approaching deadlines for employees to start working in offices. Business Insider reports that Amazon Web Services, the cloud unit, has witnessed several notable departures in recent weeks. Merritt Baer, a former AWS employee who left in July after more than 5 years, wrote, “The sheer number of AWS resignations in the last week is stunning.”
The sheer number of AWS resignations in the last week is stunning.
– Merritt Baer (@MerrittBaer) December 4, 2023
Other messages on the Slack board from departing employees mention dissatisfaction with the return-to-office policy and its poor communication, as well as being compelled to relocate to unfeasible locations. The messages also express concerns about a lack of respect for employees, inadequate planning, and the numerous layoffs that Amazon has implemented recently.
The debate surrounding return-to-office mandates resurfaced earlier this week when Broadcom informed newly acquired VMware employees (those who weren’t fired) that it was time to return to the office.