Amazon Employees on Tuesday continued to complain about CEO Andy Jassy’s recently announced return-to-office orders, including spamming internal websites with messages opposing the new policy.
A group of tech workers created a Slack channel and drafted an internal petition against the mandate to return to the office at least three days a week starting May 1. S-Team withdrew the mandate just days after it was announced.
Since then, the group has amassed 16,000 members, with nearly 5,000 employees signing the petition as of Tuesday night.
Employee frustration with the mandate spilled over to an internal news feed for e-retailer employees called Inside Amazon, where employees repeatedly commented on recordings of Jassy’s recent all-hands meeting.
“By arbitrarily forcing employees to return to work without providing data to support it, despite clear evidence that it was the wrong decision for Amazon,” according to a screenshot seen by CNBC. has failed to serve as the best employer on the planet.”We believe this decision is detrimental to our business and is diametrically opposed to how we made decisions at Amazon.”
One employee, who requested anonymity, said employees started leaving comments like this after Amazon banned people from liking or commenting on the memo announcing Mr. Jussy’s return-to-work order. Each comment indicates the poster’s identity and role in the company.
Posting on a Slack channel, staff say the announcement caught them off guard. Many expressed frustration at having to move to find someone to care for their children or aging parents, or to be within commuting distance of their office.
One employee said he recently leased a car with a limit of 16,000 miles per year, assuming remote work is still an option. If he has to be in the office more than three days a week, he will exceed that limit.
Others used the company’s former flexible work stance as an opportunity to move outside of major cities to find more affordable housing and are now worried about commuting.
One of the employees invited Jassy to a Slack channel, encouraging her colleagues to hold themselves accountable and not cause too much noise. Because the company may close the channel.
Many staff members include the phrase “remote advocacy” in their Slack statuses to show their support for the petition.
In addition to communicating their concerns about the mandate, the petition also presents a number of data points and studies highlighting the benefits of remote work, including increased productivity and ability to attract and retain top talent. doing.
Previously, Amazon left it up to individual managers to decide how often their teams should be in the office. Jassy also incorporated remote her work and hybrid work, Admitted Amazon is in a “experimenting, learning and adjusting phase,” and the company’s approach to returning to work may change.
Last week, Jassy noticed some challenges in getting employees back into the office.
“We know it won’t be perfect at first, but the office experience will be steady over the coming months (and years) as our real estate and facilities teams remove the wrinkles and ultimately continue to evolve how offices should be. should be set to capture the new ways we want to work,” Jassy wrote in a note. Announce power of attorney.
As the pandemic eases, some tech companies have returned to in-person work. Google and Apple have required some employees to return to the office since last year, while Disney began requiring hybrid employees to be in the office four days a week in January.
