Amazon to end remote work policy by 2025

After four years of allowing employees to work from home, online retailer Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has announced that the company will return to its pre-Covid-19 work policy, requiring employees to be present at the company five days a week, starting next year.

Amazon employees went on strike to protest the return-to-office policy in January 2023. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

In a message to employees on September 16, CEO Jassy said that in recent months, the company's leadership has been considering how to improve coordination and strengthen internal connections to bring the best results for customers and businesses. To address this, the company has decided to bring employees back to the office five days a week, instead of working three days a week as currently. This policy is expected to take effect on January 2, 2025.

CEO of online retailer Amazon, Mr. Andy Jassy. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Like many other businesses, Amazon employees have been working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the company saw a surge in revenue from the boom in online shopping. In 2021, the company implemented a policy that allows leaders to decide how their teams work.

In February 2023, Amazon required all employees to work in the office three days a week, leading to some protests from workers. However, CEO Jassy said that employees who were unhappy with this change should learn to adapt.

The company has found that employees learn, emulate, practice, and reinforce Amazon’s culture and ideation more easily when they work together in person, Jassy said. The decision to work from the office for the past 15 months has reinforced the company’s belief in the benefits. Jassy also said Amazon will increase the percentage of individual contributors by the end of the first quarter of 2025. Employees with approved exceptions will be able to work remotely.

Meanwhile, economic historian Dror Poleg speculates that Amazon’s new policy is designed to push some employees to leave the company. According to the New York Times, some Amazon employees appeared frustrated by the call to return to the office, expressing unhappiness and frustration in internal messaging channels.

KHANH HUNG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/amazon-cham-dut-chinh-sach-lam-viec-tu-xa-tu-nam-2025-post759318.html