Amazon’s RTO mandate could spark a talent exodus
Nearly half of Amazon workers say they are already looking for alternative roles due to the firm’s RTO mandate, while two-thirds expect to depart the company within the next year.
That’s according to an online survey from the Strategic Organizing Centre (SOC), which asked more than 1,000 Amazon corporate workers about the company’s controversial return to Office (RTO) mandate.
After years of hybrid working, Amazon employees are required to start working from the office in January. CEO Andy Jassy confirmed the decision in September this year, telling employees the RTO mandate will help the company “invent, collaborate, and be connected enough to each other” moving forward.
The backlash from staff started immediately, with workers voicing repeated concerns over the move.
According to SOC’s survey, most staff (87%) said they expect their productivity to slide as a result of returning to office work. Respondents also highlighted concerns over longer commutes, higher stress levels, strained relationships with loved ones, and poorer mental health outcomes.
Some staff described the move as a “bait and switch”, saying they were hired on the grounds they could work at least partially from home.
Amazon’s RTO mandate continues to irk staff
Employees say the RTO makes no sense, as they no longer necessarily go into the same office as their colleagues or managers. Of those surveyed, 38% said they work in the same office as 20% or less of their team members, with 45% saying their manager works from a different office.
Because of that, 81% of those who responded to the survey said the way they interact with colleagues wasn’t likely to change — or would become worse.
The report quotes one staff member with more than seven years of experience at the company saying their commute would be three hours a day, but it would be wasted as they work with a global team.
“They expect me to take early morning meetings and late-night meetings but still want me to go into an office to take virtual meetings,” the respondent said.
“Despite Andy Jassy’s claims about fostering collaboration and team connectivity, corporate teams at Amazon are often geographically dispersed,” the report notes. “When the five-day return-to-office policy is fully implemented, many workers will still work with their teams primarily remotely, but they will be required to do so from an office.”
RTO Churn
The survey from SOC found that 48% of staff are actively seeking new jobs outside the company, with two-thirds of employees saying they are likely or very likely to leave the company in the next year.
But replacing so many staff could prove difficult. Three-quarters said they wouldn’t recommend working at Amazon to a friend.
“The five-day in-office mandate is out of step with major tech competitors, with whom Amazon competes to hire and retain highly-skilled workers,” the report adds.
“If Amazon executes the five-day in-office policy in January as planned, it will likely have difficulty retaining and recruiting talent and may harm the very spirit of innovation and collaboration that its leaders claim to value.”
Research led by the University of Pittsburgh suggests RTO mandates do indeed spark a ‘brain drain’.
The study noted that companies implementing a return to the office typically find it harder to recruit in the wake of the move. Similarly, these firms often lose their best talent as a result.
Senior employees and female staff are among the first to jump ship in the wake of an RTO mandate, the study found.
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