NEW YORK — Amazon employees have been expressing their concerns about the company’s return-to-office policy, and CEO Andy Jassy has responded with a firm message.
During a recent internal Q&A session, Jassy urged employees to “disagree and commit” to the policy, which requires corporate employees to work in the office three days a week.
The phrase “disagree and commit” is one of Amazon‘s leadership principles, frequently used by the company’s founder and current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos.
Jassy emphasized that it was unfair for some employees to be in the office three days a week while others refuse to do so, stating, “If you can’t disagree and commit, it’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon.”
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, the company clarified that the prior policy was not intended to be the norm and highlighted CEO Jassy’s blog post from 2021, in which he stated that adjustments would continue to be made based on new information.
When announcing the updated policy, Jassy explained that it was based on observations during the pandemic and conversations with leaders from other companies. He noted that employees tend to be more engaged and collaborative in person.
However, many workers remain unconvinced. In May, hundreds of Amazon employees protested the new policy at the company’s Seattle headquarters. An internal Slack channel advocating for remote work had amassed 33,000 members at the time.
Some employees have also requested data to support Jassy’s claims. During the Q&A session, Jassy explained that the company’s leadership analyzed available data and found that meetings were not as effective when conducted remotely. He acknowledged that Amazon has made significant decisions in the past without perfect data, citing examples such as the creation of an online marketplace for sellers and the development of AWS, its cloud computing unit.
In July, Amazon introduced a policy requiring some employees in smaller offices to relocate to larger cities where the main offices are located, according to multiple media reports.
Amazon employs 1.4 million people worldwide, but the exact number of office-based employees is undisclosed.