Amazon employees voice dismay and anger around the sudden return-to-office approach

February 23, 2023: -On Tuesday, Amazon employees continued to sound off about CEO Andy Jassy’s announced return-to-office mandate, which included spamming an internal website with messages conveying opposition to the recent policy.

A group of technological workers started a Slack channel and drafted an internal petition pushing the mandate, requiring them to be back in the office nearly three days a week beginning May 1. The petition urging Jassy and Amazon’s leadership team, named the S-team, to drop the mandate in days following it was announced.

The group has amassed 16,000 members, and nearly 5,000 employees signed the petition on Tuesday night.

Employee dissatisfaction with the mandate spilt onto the retailer’s internal news feed for employees known as Inside Amazon, where workers repeatedly stated on a recording of Jassy’s recent all-hands meeting.

“By arbitrarily forcing return-to-office without giving data to support it and despite the evidence that it is the wrong people for employees, Amazon is failing its role as earth’s best employer,” according to the proofs.

Employees started leaving those comments after Amazon disabled staffers from “liking” or stating on Jassy’s memo announcing the return-to-office mandate, according to every employee who asked to remain anonymous.

Staffers posting in the Slack channel said the announcement caught them off guard. Many expressed frustration that they would have to find childcare arrangements, caregivers for ageing parents, or potentially move within commuting distance of the office.

One worker said they’d leased a car with an annual people of 16,000 miles assuming remote work was still an option; if they’re needed to come into the office nearly three days a week, they’ll exceed that limit.

Others took the firm’s previous elastic work stance as an opportunity to move outside huge cities to find more affordable housing and are currently concerned regarding their commute.