Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s decision to enforce a return-to-office (RTO) policy has drawn significant criticism from employees. Jassy, who succeeded Jeff Bezos as CEO in 2021 during the pandemic when remote work became widespread, recently issued a memo outlining changes aimed at reinforcing the company’s “culture and teams.” These changes include shifting from a work-from-home (WFH) or hybrid model back to in-office work.
In the memo, Jassy stated, “We’ve decided to return to being in the office as we were before COVID. Looking back over the last five years, we still believe that the benefits of being together in the office are substantial.” He acknowledged that the change might require some employees to adjust their personal lives to accommodate a five-day in-office workweek.
Employee reactions were swift and pointed. Some expressed frustration openly, with one employee posting on Slack, “This is significantly stricter than how many teams operated pre-COVID. It’s not ‘going back’—it’s just going backwards,” as reported by Business Insider. Another employee referenced the company’s guiding principle of being the “Earth’s Best Employer” when voicing dissatisfaction.
The pushback extended beyond internal channels, with employees taking to LinkedIn to share their objections. A system development engineer, for example, activated his “#OpenToWork” status and wrote, “Amazon has announced a 5-day RTO, which is unfortunate because I’m interested in working for a living, not live-action role-playing. If you have remote opportunities, reach out. I’d rather go back to school than work in an office again.”
On Reddit, employees also voiced their discontent. One user, claiming to work for Amazon in Seattle, commented, “Amazon doesn’t care about its employees—corporate or warehouse. All they care about is squeezing as much labor and profit out of us as possible before we burn out.”
Despite the backlash, Jassy remains committed to the RTO policy, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the right company culture. He concluded his memo by stating, “I’m optimistic these changes will help us achieve our goals while strengthening our culture and team effectiveness.”
