Amazon employees who fail to comply with the company’s return to office policies could risk missing out on promotions or career advancement, according to reports.
Posts on Amazon’s internal employee website and viewed by CNBC suggest that employees who fail to return to the office at least three days a week could be left at a disadvantage.
“Managers own the promotion process, which means it is their responsibility to support your growth through regular conversations and stretch assignments, and to complete all the required inputs for a promotion,” one post reportedly states.
“If your role is expected to work from the office 3+ days a week and you are not in compliance, your manager will be made aware and VP approval will be required.”
Similar internal notices suggest that human resources staff will actively “monitor adherence” to the working requirements.
“This will continue as we evaluate our promotion readiness,” the notice reads.
The move from Amazon follows a period of rising tensions between the company and employees over hybrid work practices.
Amazon introduced a minimum three-day office attendance policy for staff in May 2023. The policy prompted employees to stage a walk-out at Amazon’s Seattle-based headquarters.
Staff at offices in London, Chicago, Miami, and Brussels are also reported to have joined in the walkout.
A petition circulated among Amazon staff called for CEO Andy Jassy to ditch the new policy. So far, the tech giant has appeared unwilling to move on its position.
In October, it was reported that Amazon also empowered managers to fire employees who fail to adhere to the three-day week mandate.
Return to the office, or else
Amazon isn’t alone in its push to encourage employees back to the office, nor the associated backlash that often accompanies such efforts.
Big tech, in particular, has been keen to herd staff back into office environments as quickly as possible under the auspices of driving greater collaboration and team synergy.
Meta faced pushback from staff over its hybrid work policies while Zoom, a company whose products center around the concept of remote working, switched up its policies to require staff living within 50 miles of an office to show up at least two days a week minimum.
Some efforts from industry counterparts have involved incentives for returning.
In August, Google’s attempt to lure workers back into the office included discount offers for on-site hotel rooms at its Mountain View hotel.
The reported discount prices would see Google staffers forced to pay a nightly rate of $99 dollars, but give them a far easier commute to work.
The firm framed the policy as a convenient means for staff to re-engage with their colleagues in an office environment, create “less friction” with commutes, and even offer them an “extra hour of sleep” each morning.
Google’s very own Hotel California concept follows repeated attempts to lure staff back to the office. Two months prior, the firm introduced new hybrid work policies that include the tracking of in-office attendance.
At the time, it was reported that attendance metrics tracked by the company would be taken into account in performance reviews.
