Amazon workers ‘terrified’ by top executives’ explanation of 5-day back-to-office policy

More than 500 Amazon employees sent a letter Wednesday to the CEO of its AWS unit calling for the cancellation of a full back-to-office policy and refuting his assertion that the rule had broad support and opponents should leave Amazon Web Services.

“We were horrified to hear the clueless explanation you gave for Amazon imposing a five-day office mandate,” the letter begins.

AWS CEO Matt Garman said at an Oct. 17 plenary meeting of the cloud computing unit that nine out of 10 workers he spoke with support the back-to-office policy, which will take effect early next year.

Those comments are “contrary to the experiences of many employees” and “misrepresent the reality of working at Amazon,” according to the letter, which Reuters reviewed after it was sent to Garman.

An Amazon spokesman said the company offers commuter benefits, elder care and subsidized parking rates, among other things, to help with office work.

Garman had said he was “pretty excited about this change” and that, under the current three-day-a-week policy, collaboration was very difficult because people could be in the office on different days.

The company-wide policy, announced in September by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, ​​has been controversial within Amazon, with many calling it wasteful because it adds travel time and costs when telecommuting has been effective. Some say they plan to leave the company. Amazon has implemented the policy by asking many workers to go to regional offices, move to Seattle or “voluntarily resign.”

Garman’s comments do not reflect any independent data, the letter states, and “undermine the confidence of your employees, who not only have personal experience that demonstrates the benefits of remote work, but have seen extensive data that supports that experience.” . €

Requiring five days in the office each week also particularly affects protected classes of workers, such as those with neurodiversity or childcare responsibilities, and “does not support the ‘Strive to be the Earth’s Best Employer’ leadership principle espoused by Amazon.” .according to the letter.

Attached to the letter were anonymous stories from a dozen Amazon workers who said adhering to a five-day office policy would be difficult or impossible due to, among other things, family obligations, travel schedules or medical needs.

One said the nearest office is four hours away; another said their spouse would have to quit her job to accommodate a move across the country; and another said they are more efficient working from home.

“I used to be proud of my job and excited about my future here,” said one. “I don’t feel it with this.â€

The letter linked to a 2020 blog post in which Garman wrote that AWS had operated effectively early in the pandemic when most workers were remote.

Amazon has taken a stricter approach to back-to-office mandates than many of its tech peers who are implementing two- and three-day policies. The company has said the policy helps workers “invent, collaborate and connect,” and Garman suggested “we didn’t really accomplish anything” under the three-day policy.