As Amazon is about to implement the new “5-day-per-week in-office policy” controversies are ensuing. On Thursday, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt German defended the new policy saying that employees who are not comfortable with the work environment can freely look for opportunities in other companies.
According to the new employee policy that is expected to be enforced in January next year, all employees are expected to work from the office five days a week. During an all-hands meeting held at Amazon headquarters in Virginia, AWS CEO Matt German addressed the concerns some employees expressed about the new work policy. The relevant portions of the German’s words:
“If there are people who just don’t work well in that environment and don’t want to, that’s ok, there are other companies around”.
With the new policy, Amazon aims to promote a more collaborative environment that reflects the company’s core values of fostering innovation in the workplace.
Amazon 5-Day-Per-Week In-Office Policy
Amazon’s previous return-to-work stance made it mandatory for corporate employees to work at the office at least three days a week. But last month, the company announced the new mandate, enforcing a 5-days-per-week in-office policy. The employees are given a window of about 2 and a half months to adhere to the new work policy, till January 2, 2025.
The shift is aimed at forgoing the remote work culture that became mainstream in the pandemic era. Amazon aims to improve collaboration and productivity in the workplace by enforcing the mandate. They believe that this change in the workplace can help them be better equipped to keep up with the strong competition they are facing from OpenAI, and Google in the fastly transforming AI industry.
Amazon New Work Policy Mandate: Backlashes
As the remote working environment has been normalized over the years, many employees believe that productivity will not be affected regardless of whether it is remote, hybrid, or in-office. However, shifting back to the in-office working policy can put a toll on the families, and caregivers. Additionally, some employees would require relocation and unnecessary commutes from home and office twice a day, all culminating in great inconvenience, extra expense, and potentially more pressure.
According to an insider, Amazon corporate employees created an internal Slack channel last year to advocate for remote work and share their grievances about the return-to-work mandate. The channel had about 37,00 employees, meaning that a large majority of Amazon employees might be more comfortable with a remote or hybrid working environment. According to German, nine out of 10 people he has spoken with were excited about the mandate.
While he acknowledged that the employees will have some flexibility in pre-approved scenarios, the employees must adhere to the new work policy. At the all-hands meeting, German said that they are trying their best to bring back an office culture and discipline that existed before all the Covid commotion. With the new mandate, the company is trying to ensure the workforce is working at their full potential, which is vital for competing with other giants in the market.
However, Google one of the biggest competitors of Amazon in the cloud computing and AI development industry has not ordered their employees to come back to the office five days a week. Google does not have immediate plans to disrupt the flexible working environment as long as the company stays productive.
Microsoft kicks it up a notch and has taken a stance that allows their employees to choose an environment that is best suited for them. However, experts speculate that after Amazon’s mandate settles in, there is a possibility that other tech giants will also follow in their footsteps in the future.
Also Read: Amazon & Google Turn To SMRs For Sustainable AI Energy Solutions
Amazon Flexibility in Working
While it will become a mandate for the employees to follow a five-day-per-week work in an office, German has ensured that the employees can still benefit from some flexibility in their working environment. He said in the all-hands meeting that if an employee wants to work from home one day, they can do so, by getting the approval of their manager.
This means that if an employee expresses that he needs a quiet environment to get a specific task done, they will be given the freedom. So, as a whole, the flexibility is becoming narrow. The Amazon workplace will become more like the pre-COVID work environment, and the company may take serious action against the employees who do not adhere to the new mandate.
