'Morale for this job is gone': Amazon's return-to-office mandate triggers mass employee discontent, finds survey

Last week, Amazon announced a full return to office by January 2, 2025¡ªofficially closing the chapter on work-from-home and hybrid models. While resistance to the policy was expected, a recent survey reveals a more significant ripple effect: employees are not just resisting¡ªthey're leaving. Some have already quit, and over 70% are now contemplating a job change in response to the mandate.

'Morale for job is gone'

A survey conducted by the professional social network Blind revealed that 91% of Amazon employees are unhappy with the company's recent return-to-office (RTO) mandate.

Blind polled 2,585 verified Amazon professionals just one day after CEO Andy Jassy announced the new policy.

The survey also found that 73% of employees are now considering looking for another job due to the policy, while 32% reported knowing someone who has already quit over the decision.

Credit: Unsplash | Representational image

Even some Amazon hiring managers have noticed candidates dropping out of ongoing interviews in response to the end of remote work flexibility.

Employees have voiced their frustrations publicly on Blind.

"My morale for this job is gone, gonna totally check out till PIP," one verified Amazon professional posted.

Another expressed the mandate is especially difficult on those who were hired remotely and living far from an office. "I have kids and family here so unwilling to relocate," they said.

One user went so far as to link the policy to their personal choices: "Decisions like the one from Jassy are a big reason why I don't want kids. I don¡¯t need others imposing rules that ruin my quality of life."

Not all are completely set against the change, however.

One professional shared: "I'm on the fence. If it truly is like pre-pandemic, then that means it's way more flexible than the current 3x a week model with badge reporting. If they continue to have badge reporting, then it's just monitoring us like children."

Amazon announces return to office

On September 16, 2024, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy issued a companywide memo titled "Strengthening our culture and teams," outlining a series of organizational and leadership changes.

Credit: Reuters | Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

Among these was a major shift for Amazon's more than 350,000 corporate employees: a requirement to return to the office five days a week starting January 2, 2025. This marks a significant change from the current hybrid model, which mandates in-office attendance just three days per week.

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