More Amazon employees are “ferociously applying” for other jobs following CEO Andy Jassy's order to return to the office full-time at the start of the year, according to a report.
One Amazon employee who had become accustomed to working from home during his tenure told Fortune that he learned of his new duties not from his boss but from a news media article.
“Honestly, I have lost a lot of faith in Amazon's leadership at this point,” said the employee, who gave her name as Laura.
She was furious that her new duties would require her to add four hours to her weekly commute.
“I am updating my resume and portfolio and applying for new jobs on LinkedIn,” Laura said.
Although shocked at first, the employee ultimately settled with the verdict, saying, “My time at Amazon must end.”
“I couldn't believe it at first,” she says. he told Fortune. “After all, who would expect career-changing news from a news article rather than an employer?”
Laura said she was hired by Amazon with the understanding that the company didn't expect her to need to come into the office during the pandemic.
Last year, Jassy told the company's employees that he wanted them to be “back in the office together most of the time.” That means 3 days a week. Jassy issued the new directive two weeks ago.
“While the original RTO obligation was a difficult pill to swallow, the latest one is impossible,” Mr Lawler said.
Several other employees also told Fortune that they were looking for other jobs because of the travel demands of the five-day work week.
One employee told Fortune that he was hired remotely last May. That came a month after the company first announced that employees would be expected to come into the office three days a week.
“I left my job at a decent company near me to go to Amazon because it was working from home,” said the employee, who was identified only by his first name.
“For me, it's not that I don't want to go to the office. I don't have an office nearby.”
Luka told Fortune that in the past, his manager had filled in for him while he was away from work.
However, the new edict makes that arrangement untenable.
“I like working at Amazon, but you need a solid foundation, and Amazon doesn't provide that,” he said.
Jared, who was hired by Amazon six months ago, said he changed his LinkedIn status to #opentowork.
“The new policy is less flexible than before COVID-19 and does not respect employees' needs to manage their health, family, and work-life balance,” Jared said.
“I'm not going back.”
The Post has reached out to Amazon for comment.
