Amazon workers 'shocked' by top executive's explanation for return to 5-day office policy

More than 500 Amazon employees sent a letter to the CEO of its AWS unit on Wednesday calling for the withdrawal of a full office-to-office policy, rejecting his claim that the rule has widespread support and that opponents should quit Amazon Web Services.

“We are horrified by your non-data-driven explanation for Amazon imposing a five-day office mandate,” the letter begins.

Matt Garman, CEO of AWS, said at the cloud computing unit's all-hands meeting on Oct. 17 that 9 out of 10 workers he spoke with supported the office-to-office policy, which will take effect early next year.

Those comments are “inconsistent with 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 spokesperson said the company offers commuter benefits, elder care and subsidized parking rates, among other things, to support office work.

Garman said he was “pretty excited about this change” and that under the current three-day-per-week policy, collaboration was 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 to commuting time and costs when remote work is implemented. Some say they plan to leave the company. Amazon implemented the policy by asking many workers to move to regional offices, move to Seattle or “voluntarily resign.”

Garman's comments do not reflect any independent data, the letter says, and “violate the trust of your employees who not only have personal experience that shows the benefits of remote work, but have seen extensive data that supports that experience.”

The five-day-per-week office requirement particularly affects protected categories of workers, such as those with neurodiversity or child care responsibilities, and does not support Amazon's “strive to be the world's best employer” leadership ethos, according to the letter.

Attached to the letter were anonymous stories from a dozen Amazon workers who said it was difficult or impossible to adhere to the five-day office-in-office policy due to, among others, family obligations, travel time or medical needs.

One said the nearest office was four hours away; Another said their spouse would be forced to quit his job to make a move across the country; And another said they are more efficient working from home.

“I was proud of my work and excited about my future here,” said one. “I don't feel it anymore.”

The letter links to a 2020 blog post in which Garman wrote that AWS was running effectively at the start of the pandemic when most workers were remote.

Amazon has taken a stricter approach to back-to-office than many of its tech peers who are implementing two- and three-day policies. The company said the policy helps employees “innovate, collaborate and connect,” and Garman suggested “we couldn't really do anything” under the three-day policy.