Amazon Employees return to Office. Is Work-from-home over?

Is it the end of WFH? According to Amazon, it soon will be. Starting January 2nd, 2025, employees will be required to report back to the office, marking a significant shift in the Amazon return-to-office movement.

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So, what about the rest of us? Are we headed back to the cubicles, leaving the fuzzy slippers at home, and boarding the emotional support creatures? It’s complicated. Before I give you my opinion, let’s look at the reason why Amazon is about to pull the rug out from under the work-from-home crowd.

Amazon is implementing two key changes to strengthen its culture and collaboration among teams.

First, the company will reduce layers of management by 15% by Q1 2025 to increase ownership, decision-making speed, and minimize bureaucracy. This change aims to streamline processes and enhance team effectiveness.

Second, starting January 2, 2025, Amazon will require employees to return to the office more consistently, with five days per week as the standard. The company believes that in-person work improves collaboration, learning, and connection to its culture, which has been key to its growth. Remote work will still be permitted under certain conditions, but Amazon's focus is on fostering an office-based environment to drive innovation and teamwork.

“Back to the office” implies there is a physical location. Some companies went 100% remote or downsized. If this is the case for your company, you don’t have to shower and get dressed every day.

Startups are safe, too. No startup wants to invest in an office at the expense of hiring another talented person or adding a benefit. Startups want to hire the best talent they can find anywhere in the country—maybe even the world.

What about the service industries, retail, and restaurants or manufacturers and construction or housing? Frontline workers never had WFH options. If you are a white-collar professional in sales, marketing, or finance working from home in these industries, you best prepare for a return to the office or at least a flex schedule because maintaining company culture and morale requires collaboration, innovation, and that indefinable element that occurs when like-minded people feed off of each other.

The obvious losers are the workers at large tech firms. Amazon is the first domino to fall. CEOs that were forced to shift the workforce home during the pandemic will use this move to demand the same from their workers. There is a reason why only 7% of eligible workers had full-time WFH gigs: control, productivity, culture, and training. In my opinion, these elements have suffered, and I expect to see a return to the office.

I doubt we will get back to 7% levels, but with a tightening labor market, the power is shifting back to the employer.