Amazon CEO confirms back-to-office plans

Three years on from the beginning of the pandemic and many companies are still attempting to strike a balance between at-home and in-office working formats that has seen many become reliant on a hybrid model.

However, for Amazon, it appears such a layout may not be apparent for much longer.

A blog update from the marketplace giant’s CEO Andy Jassy has called for employees to return to the office following an observation of various working models and what effect they had on both the company’s workforce and consumer experience.

According to Jassy’s analysis, company culture can be strengthened when employees are together in the office, where he said it is also easier to collaborate and advance ideas.

Jassy linked the observations to better serving the Amazon consumer, ultimately concluding that the team would go back to being in the office the majority of the time — at least three days per week.

While details of the execution are still yet to be outlined with the plan to be implemented by May 1, Jassy said that certain exceptions will be made to these requirements, albeit in a small minority.

He added that he believed the shift would boost employees located around Amazon’s urban headquarter locations, including in Virginia and Nashville, helping communities to recover from the challenges of the pandemic.

Jassy concluded: “I know that for some employees, adjusting again to a new way of working will take some time. But I’m very optimistic about the positive impact this will have in how we serve and invent on behalf of customers, as well as on the growth and success of our employees.”