Amazon employees create Pro-Return-to-Office Slack
A line has been drawn in the sand, or rather in Slack. On February 17, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, citing the importance of in-person collaboration, announced that employees would likely return to the office three days a week starting in May. The plan was greeted with mixed feelings by Amazonians who, like most Americans, are divided on the issue of remote vs. hybrid vs. in-office work.
According to Insider, around 28,000 employees joined a Slack channel called “Remote Advocacy” after Jassy’s announcement. Shortly after, a separate, albeit much smaller, group of Amazonians formed a rival Slack channel called “Think Big,” supporting Jassy’s RTO plan, Insider reports.
With only 750 people on the Think Big Slack channel so far, having David backed by a billionaire CEO is less of a war than a David and Goliath tale. Peering through screenshots inside the channel, Insider found that one of the very first messages was a link to a 2021 Harvard Business Review article that reads very similar to Jassy’s blog post, which detailed the new RTO Plan was announced because it focused on the purported benefits of in-person work such as culture, collaboration and purpose.
Some employees who are part of “Think Big” talked about how exciting it was to work in the office and how they enjoyed seeing their colleagues. Another said an RTO would potentially make everyone more productive, while also suggesting a four-day work week.
After a tough couple of quarters and a string of layoffs, Amazon isn’t quite the Goliath it once was. One employee who advocates RTO linked the company’s tough times to the rise of remote work, noting that Amazon’s stock price was higher in the three years leading up to the pandemic than it is now while people are working from home. While there may not be a direct link between Amazon’s current situation and its employees working from home, Jassy likely feels the pressure to improve share prices and regain control. Amazon didn’t immediately respond wealth‘s request for comment.
Meanwhile, the Remote Advocacy channel is making waves. An internal poll by the channel found that a majority (80%) would look for a new job if the new hybrid policy were implemented, as members cited issues like long commutes after moving away during the remote work era, according to The Predicting Things would be chaotic at Amazon if the plans go ahead.
There’s also an employee petition to let teams choose where they want to work. The signatories rejected Jassy’s claims with six counterpoints. They found that remote work increases worker productivity; Employees prefer location flexibility; and office work affects parents, minorities and people with disabilities. The petition also argues that remote working improves hiring and development, would allow the company to cut costs and improve employee work-life balance.
However, Jassy acknowledged in his memo that the RTO “would not be perfect to begin with”. Many companies are struggling to get their employees back into the office, even with a hybrid schedule, but there has been a steady increase since January, with occupancy hovering around 50%, according to Kastle Systems.
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