Being prepared to invent, collaborate and be sufficiently connected to each other and to the company culture to offer the best to customers and the business. That is one of the objectives pursued by Amazon and to achieve this it has required all of its corporate employees to return to in-person office work five days a week.
This was conveyed by CEO Andy Jassy in a message to the staff that the company shared in its news section. The decision represents the end of the hybrid model work schedule, adopted in June last year, when the company asked its office workers to be present on the premises at least three days a week.
“We continue to believe that the benefits of being together in the office are significant”
Amazon returns to the office
“We’ve decided that we’re going to go back to being in the office like we did before Covid hit. When we look back over the past five years, we still believe that the benefits of being together in the office are significant,” Jassy said. “But we’ve found that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, practice and strengthen our culture; and collaborating, brainstorming and inventing is simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from each other is more fluid; and teams tend to be better connected to each other. The past 15 months of being back in the office at least three days a week has reinforced our belief in the benefits.”
Amazon intends for employees to work in the office five days a week, except in “extenuating circumstances” such as illness, family or home emergency, or being away visiting customers; or if there is a remote work exception approved by the team leader.
The company will grant until next January 2, 2025 to adapt to the new model and ensure the transition, as it understands that some workers have modified their lives around teleworking.
In addition, Amazon’s CEO has pointed out that the assigned desk system in offices that were organized in this way, including its US headquarters. However, in offices with an “agile desk” system, such as many of the company’s European facilities, the model will be maintained.
“I continue to believe that we are all here because we want to make a difference in the lives of our customers, invent on their behalf, and act quickly to solve their problems,” said Andy Jassy. “I am optimistic that these changes will help us better achieve these goals, while strengthening our culture and the effectiveness of our teams.”
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The company, however, faced criticism last year in relation to in-person work. In June 2023, when the return to the office three days a week was established, workers held a protest at the multinational’s offices in Seattle. Amazon fired the organizer, which led to complaints about unfair retaliation and tensions with the workforce.
Less managers
Along with returning to the office five days a week, Andy Jassy has also communicated changes in the structure focused on remove layers and flatten the organization. The company plans to increase the number of employees per manager by 15% in the first quarter of 2025. This may involve eliminating management positions.
The measure, as the CEO points out, will serve to increase the capacity of the teams to act quickly, bring decision-making closer to the front lines where it impacts customers and the business the most, reducing bureaucracy and strengthening the organization’s capacity to improve and facilitate the lives of customers every day.
