As you may recall, e-commerce giant Amazon faced significant backlash after deciding to require employees to come into the office five days a week. According to a survey conducted by the anonymous work platform Blind, a large majority of the company’s employees are unhappy with this decision.
Amazon Employees Have Started Job Hunting!
On September 16, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced via email that most employees would be required to work in the office five days a week starting in early 2025. Jassy justified this decision by stating, “It makes it easier and more effective for our teammates to learn, apply, and strengthen the company culture; collaborate, brainstorm, and innovate.”
However, this decision has led to significant dissatisfaction among employees. According to a survey conducted by Blind from September 17 to 19 with 2,585 Amazon employees, 73% of the participants indicated that they were considering looking for a new job due to this decision. Even more striking, 80% of those surveyed reported knowing someone who was job hunting because of this policy.
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The employees’ reactions weren’t limited to the survey. On Blind’s forum pages, one Amazon employee commented, “I’ve completely lost motivation for this job; I won’t care anymore.” Some employees argued that they were hired under remote work conditions during COVID-19 and claimed that this decision was unfair.
These developments also seem to have affected the company’s hiring processes. Some Blind users reported that candidates withdrew from job interviews due to Amazon’s refusal to allow remote work.
Another concerning point is that some employees interpret this decision as an attempt by Amazon to reduce its workforce. A March study by BambooHR revealed that some companies used return-to-office policies to push employees to resign. According to this research, 25% of senior executives and 18% of HR professionals indicated that they approved of this tactic.
Amazon’s decision has reignited discussions on how to balance remote work and office culture in the business world. It remains to be seen whether other major tech companies will make similar decisions in the near future.
