Amazon staff lose WFH option as company orders employees to return to the office permanently

Amazon’s move to rope corporate workers back into the office five days a week from January could lead some staff to quit the company, according to one Australian-based expert who believes the e-commerce giant has failed to properly justify the decision.

Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy announced in a note to staff the company is taking a major step away from its pandemic-era arrangements, with workers required “in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID”.

Jassy said it is a move that will “strengthen our culture and teams” and help staff “deliver the absolute best for customers and the business”.

Its white-collar workers have been required to swipe into the office at least three days a week for the past 15 months. That will move to five days from January 2.

Jassy, who took over from founder Jeff Bezos in 2021, said: “We continue to believe the advantages of being together in the office are significant.

“It’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and, teams tend to be better connected to one another.”

The company said there would be exceptions — including for emergencies and parents who need to take care of a sick child — and there will be flexibility for those who were not in the office full-time prior to COVID-19, but conceded the shift will “require some adjustments”.

“Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week and that will also be true moving forward,” Jassy said.

“Our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances.”

Amazon has a global workforce of more than 1.5 million and employs about 7000 staff in Australia.

Hundreds of Amazon staff staged a walkout in 2023 to protest return-to-office mandates and layoffs.

University of Sydney Business School professor of management Angela Knox, who specialises in work and employment, said one size no longer fits all.

“I would expect a lot of workers at Amazon will be dissatisfied — the reaction from workers (during the previous return-to-office mandate) was dissatisfaction,” Knox told 7NEWS.com.au.

“It’s not unexpected that a bigger request to return to the office five days a week will lead to high levels of dissatisfaction among some workers.

“Some workers prefer working from the office, others from home, and others both. There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.”

Knox flagged some staff could quit in favour of a job that is better catered to how they want to work and live.

“If workers don’t want to go into the office they will look for employment that satisfies that,” Knox said

“Things have changed so fundamentally. Employees want options and flexibility and will go where they can get that.”

Thirty-seven per cent of Australians were regularly working from home in late 2023, according to ABS data.

It was down from about 40 per cent in 2021 but still higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Close to two-thirds of Australian managers and professionals, like those Amazon is returning to the office, were working from home.

“Interestingly, while the pandemic has seen a large shift in people working from home, there haven’t been similarly large changes in other arrangements like working flexible hours,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said when the data was released.

“Apart from working from home, most other arrangements have generally followed pre-pandemic trends.”

‘No justification’

One thing that Knox said stood out in the messaging to Amazon staff was a lack of data to justify the decision.

“Workers would appreciate a stronger rationale for the decision including data on productivity and performance, (comparing) working in the office against working from home,” Knox said.

“It’s not unreasonable to expect staff to come into the office for some activities and meetings but there is insufficient justification for a full return to the office.”

Knox said working from home did require management, ensuring staff remain productive, but argued working in the office could potentially be less productive, considering time spent chatting with colleagues and attending meetings that could be handled in an email.

“Being visible does not mean being productive,” she said.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the current trend is “very much” with employees wanting staff to return to the office because of concerns over productivity, collaboration, culture and accountability.

“We’re more than five years on from COVID and the labor market is changing,” he told 7NEWS.com.au.

“Employers are in a position to seek more in terms of everyone turning up (to the office).”

He said not all will choose a five-day in-office policy, adding flexible and hybrid workplaces will remain.

“There’s no hard or fast rule. We’re kind of in unknown territory and it will vary from employer to employer based on what they need.”

Jassy also flagged Amazon was looking to streamline following a period in which teams have grown “quickly and substantially”, saying “we want to operate like the world’s largest startup”.

“Having fewer managers will remove layers and flatten organisations more than they are today,” Jassy said.

“If we do this work well, it will increase our teammates’ ability to move fast, clarify and invigorate their sense of ownership.”