Amazon office mandate: Full five days expected from next year

There has been an update to the Amazon office mandate. The tech and e-commerce giant is ordering its staff to return to the office full time early next year.

The announcement was made in an update from CEO Andy Jassy yesterday (Sep. 16), and it was shared with employees on the same day.

Like many industries, the tech sector made working from home the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Due to social distancing guidance around the globe, Amazon was no exception.

As the guidance began to ease, people started trickling back into the office. At Amazon, in 2021 it was up to directors to decide where their teams could work. Then in February 2023, Jassy announced that staff were expected to be in the office at least three days a week.

Now the company will return to pre-pandemic practices.

Why is Amazon fully returning to the office?

“We’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID,” Jassy said.

“When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant.”

Remote working is not entirely forbidden though – it will no longer be regularly expected.

Jassy gives examples of working at home due to a sick child, house emergencies, or needing a solidarity environment from time to time.

“Our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances (like the ones mentioned above) or if you already have a Remote Work Exception approved through your s-team leader,” he concluded.

The CEO said these changes aim to strengthen Amazon’s culture and teams. The office mandate will come into effect on January 2, 2025.

Orders like these are becoming more common in the sector. Rivals Apple and Microsoft now require a few days in the office each week.

Amazon’s five-day mandate is a bit more unique, however. Only a few large companies, including Boeing and UPS, have gone this far.

Former Amazon employee Pamela Hayter left the company last year when the three-day mandate came into effect. She wrote on LinkedIn in regards to the latest news: “I have received tons of messages from frustrated, angry, incredulous and just downright done Amazonians all day long. It makes me so angry on their behalf. I wish I could say I’m shocked, but that would be a lie.”

Featured Image: Via Ideogram

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