Amazon workers push back on 5-day office return mandate

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Amazon’s recent decision to mandate a five-day return to office policy starting January 2025 has sparked widespread discontent among its employees.
The e-commerce giant’s workforce is pushing back against CEO Andy Jassy’s announcement, citing concerns about productivity, work-life balance, and the company’s apparent disregard for employee preferences.
Employee survey reveals dissatisfaction of Amazon employees
An anonymous survey circulated among Amazon employees has shed light on the extent of their dissatisfaction. The survey, which garnered hundreds of responses, revealed an average satisfaction rating of just 1.4 out of 5 regarding the new policy, according to Fortune.
One respondent highlighted the challenges of collaborating across time zones under the new policy: “With RTO, they no longer have the flexibility to easily shift hours and collaborate. [Three-day] had an instant impact here, and 5 day will only be worse.”
Amazon employees consider exit strategies
The policy change has prompted some employees to explore alternative career options. CJ Felli, a system development engineer for Amazon Web Services, expressed his disappointment on LinkedIn: “Amazon has announced 5 day RTO, which is unfortunate because I’m interested in working for a living, not live-action role playing and virtue signaling.”
“The people that leave first are the strong engineers you want to work with,” one wrote. “Others that can’t find new jobs or can’t leave due to visa are miserable and quiet quit. Anyone left that actually wants to work has to pick up the slack.”
Employees also expressed concern over the abrupt end of another policy that allowed them to work from any location within their country of employment for up to four weeks annually.
The sudden removal of this option has led some workers to believe that Amazon’s leadership is attempting to reduce the workforce. “They don’t want us here,” one worker told Business Insider, speculating that the company’s goal is to push out employees.
Impact on work-life balance and productivity
Many employees argue that the return to office mandate fails to account for the benefits of remote work. Some point out that the elimination of commute times had previously allowed for increased work hours and productivity. The new policy, they claim, will result in less time for actual work and potentially lower output.
“Amazon got used to people having an extra 5-10 hours a week to work because we weren’t commuting,” one employee explained. “RTO means that we no longer have the extra time to commit to Amazon and expectations of employees needs to adjust to reflect that. On a similar note, we need to accept that RTO places hard limits on meeting times. I can’t hop onto an 8am meeting with the folks in HQ2 or the East Coast anymore. When I was at home, I could jump on early or late meetings pretty easily, but I’m physically unable to do that now.”
Amazon leadership stands firm
Despite employee pushback, Amazon’s leadership appears committed to the new policy. Jassy believes that in-person collaboration is crucial for innovation and maintaining company culture.
While employees remain vocal about their opposition, it is unclear whether the feedback will prompt Amazon to reconsider its RTO mandate.