Amazon RTO: Employees Don’t Want to Work in the Office Five Days a Week
Amazon corporate employees overwhelmingly do not want to return to the office five days a week.
Ninety-one percent of Amazon professionals surveyed by the professional social network Blind are dissatisfied with CEO Andy Jassy’s decision to require in-office work five days a week beginning in January 2025. Blind’s survey polled 2,585 verified Amazon professionals one day after Jassy sent the companywide memo announcing the new plans.
“My morale for this job is gone, gonna totally check out till PIP,” a verified Amazon professional reported on Blind, referring to the company’s rigorous employee performance culture, which may include performance improvement plans.
The “plan for next year is badge minimum needed Mondays and fridays and come in as usual the other days,” continued the same employee, referring to using an employee badge to enter the company’s corporate offices.
On Sept. 16, 2024, Jassy sent a memo titled “Strengthening our culture and teams,” which, among other organization and leadership changes, required Amazon’s more than 350,000 corporate workforce to return to the office five days per week beginning January 2, 2025. Amazon’s current in-office work schedule requires in-person presence three days a week. The policy changes are intended to help one of the largest private employers in the U.S. “operate like the world’s largest startup.”
It did not take long for Amazon’s return-to-office plans to impact the tech industry. Just days after the company’s announcement, some Amazon professionals said they plan to take more drastic steps, including looking for another job. Nearly three out of four Amazon professionals (73%) said they are considering looking for another job because of the in-office work policy when surveyed by Blind.
Four out of five Amazon professionals polled by Blind said they knew someone at the company who was considering looking for another job because of the in-office work policy, and 32% said they knew someone who had already quit in response.
The policy might impact Amazon employees who are parents by removing some flexibility and autonomy to decide their working hours and balance their work and family life. Some Amazon professionals were hired to work remotely or may have received accommodations to have a more accommodating work schedule.
“RTO blanket policy is crazy, particularly for those of us who were hired remote and FAR from an office. I have kids and family here so unwilling to relocate,” a verified Amazon professional who identifies as a parent said on Blind in reaction to the memo, referring to the company’s return-to-office policy. “Even if I didn’t there’s too great a risk I’d be laid off in 6 months anyway so why risk a move?”
“I feel dejected about this 5 day RTO, but at the same time I am thankful that I have flexibility in my life. I don’t have kids to worry about so I have good savings to depend upon and I can easily uproot my life to something completely different that fits my needs,” a verified Amazon professional said on Blind. “Decisions like the one from Jassy are a big reason why I don’t want kids. I don’t need others to impose rules that ruin my quality of life.”
Some Amazon hiring managers also reportedly saw candidates drop out of ongoing job interviews in response to the upcoming loss of remote work.
“I just had an Amazon recruiter blow up my phone and inbox 5 times in the last 24 hours to get me to provide my availability for an onsite interview,” a verified Microsoft professional reported on Blind. “I just asked the recruiter why they are rushing to hire and he said the hiring managers are pissed that so many candidates dropped out of the pipeline in just the last 24 hours.”
Others still are taking a wait-and-see approach. “I'm on the fence. If it truly is like pre-pandemic, then that means it's way more flexible than the current 3x a week model with badge reporting. If they continue to have badge reporting, then it's just monitoring us like children,” a verified Amazon professional said on Blind.
Professionals in the tech industry believe other tech companies might follow Amazon’s lead.
“Remote is a thing of the past. Those who choose to stay remote are going to continue to lose out,” a verified Block professional opined on Blind. “Amazon will not do this unless they know their peers aren’t going to do something similar in the future.”
Methodology
Blind conducted an online survey of 2,585 verified Amazon professionals in the U.S. on its platform from Sept. 17 to 19, 2024, to understand how they felt about the company’s return-to-office plan.
Survey respondents answered “yes” or “no” to the following questions:
- Are you satisfied with Andy Jassy’s decision to require in-office work five days a week beginning in January 2025?
- Are you considering looking for another job because of the in-office work policy?
- Do you know anyone at Amazon who is considering looking for another job because of the in-office work policy?
- Do you know anyone who has quit because of the recently announced in-office work policy?
