Nandini RoyChoudhury, writer
Brief news
- Amazon’s CEO of AWS, Matt Garman, announced a new mandate requiring employees to work five days in-office, effective January 2, emphasizing the importance of collaboration for company culture and innovation.
- Employees unhappy with the policy have the option to leave, with many expressing concerns about productivity and family burdens.
- Garman noted that while most employees support the change, some flexibility will be allowed for focused work at home.
Detailed news
On Thursday, the cloud manager at Amazon presented employees with an open and honest message on the company’s newly announced mandate to work five days per week in the office.
The CEO of Amazon Web Services, Matt Garman, stated during an all-hands meeting held at the firm’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, that employees who do not agree with the new policy established by Amazon had the option to quit the company.
According to a transcript witnessed by CNBC, Garman stated, “If there are individuals who are unable to thrive in that environment and do not wish to do so, that is acceptable; there are other organizations available.” “At Amazon, we aspire to operate in a collaborative environment, as we believe that it is crucial for our culture and innovation.”
A spokesperson for Amazon informed CNBC that the practice of working in-office has been found to enhance the effectiveness and collaboration of teams.
Reuters had previously reported Garman’s remarks.
The new mandate was announced by Amazon last month. The company’s previous return-to-work policy mandated that corporate employees be present in the office for a minimum of three days each week. The new policy must be implemented by employees by January 2.
In order to remain competitive with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google in the field of generative artificial intelligence, the organization is abandoning its remote work policies from the pandemic era. It is one of the primary responsibilities of Garman, who assumed control of AWS in June following the retirement of his predecessor, Adam Selipsky.
Several Amazon employees have expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision, asserting that they are equally productive whether they are working from home or in a hybrid work environment. Some argue that the mandate places an additional burden on families and caregivers.
According to an individual who requested anonymity due to their lack of authorization to address the press, approximately 37,000 employees have participated in an internal Slack channel established last year to promote remote work and communicate grievances regarding the return-to-work mandate.
Garman stated at the all-hands meeting that he has been conversing with employees and that “nine out of ten individuals are actually quite enthusiastic about this change.” He acknowledged that there will be instances in which employees are granted some degree of flexibility.
“Our true intention is to establish an office environment,” stated Garman, citing an example scenario in which an employee may wish to work from home with the manager’s consent in order to concentrate on their work in a calm environment.
“Those are satisfactory,” he stated.
Garman stated that the mandate is crucial for the preservation of Amazon’s culture and “leadership principles,” which are a collection of over a dozen business philosophies intended to instruct employees in their decision-making and objectives. He cited Amazon’s “disagree and commit” principle, which posits that employees should respectfully debate and challenge each other’s ideas. Garman stated that this practice can be particularly challenging to execute using Amazon’s videoconferencing software, Chime.
Garman stated, “I am uncertain as to whether you have attempted to disagree through a Chime call; it is exceedingly challenging.”
Source: CNBC News
