Amazon CEO on why he wants all employees to work from office five days a week

For almost two years, the Covid-19 pandemic pushed organisations to allow remote work for a lot of employees. Some companies went back to hybrid work culture — some days from home and some from office. Amazon has now ordered employees to come to office all five days a week across the globe. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent a memo to all employees on the matter. “We’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID,” said Jassy.

He further said that being in office makes it easier for teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen Amazon’s culture. Jassy said that teams tend to be better connected to one another when they are in office. “If anything, the last 15 months we’ve been back in the office at least three days a week has strengthened our conviction about the benefits,” Jassy told employees in the memo.

“Our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances,” he said. Jassy assured employees that exceptions can be made. “If you or your child were sick, if you had some sort of house emergency, if you were on the road seeing customers or partners, if you needed a day or two to finish coding in a more isolated environment, people worked remotely. This was understood, and will be moving forward as well,” said the Amazon CEO.

Amazon is giving employees time till January 2, 2025 to get ready for coming back to office. “We understand that some of our teammates may have set up their personal lives in such a way that returning to the office consistently five days per week will require some adjustments,” he said.