WFH fight heats up as Amazon workers threaten mass exodus: 'Morale is gone'

Amazon is facing a mass exodus after the company told employees it would permanently stop working from home starting in January. The technology giant Atlassian has sharply criticized Amazon over the mandate and has now concocted a ploy to win over its workers.

According to a survey of 2,585 verified employees by professional social network Blind, an incredible 73 percent of Amazon corporate employees said they are considering looking for another job because of the office mandate. 91 percent said they were “dissatisfied” with the move.

Four in five Amazon workers said they knew someone at the e-commerce company who threatened to look for another job because of the new policy, while a third knew someone who had already quit.

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“My morale for this job is at the end, I will totally review that until the PIP (performance improvement plan),” a verified Amazon employee told Blind.

Another Amazon employee called the flat rate policy “crazy” and shared that he was hired as a remote worker and lives far from an office.

“I have children and family here, so I’m not willing to move,” they said.

Another said they felt “depressed” by the decision but were grateful they had the flexibility to change jobs if necessary.

“Decisions like Jassy’s are a big reason why I don’t want children. I don’t need others to impose rules on me that ruin my quality of life,” the worker said.

Atlassian offers to hire dissatisfied Amazon employees

Atlassian criticized Amazon's return-to-office mandate, with the company's team leader Annie Dean accusing the tech giant of “willfully promoting the old way as a solution to new problems.”

The Australian company has long been critical of the mandates, with CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes describing them as “draconian”. Since 2020, Atlassian has enabled its employees to “work from anywhere,” including from home or one of the company's global offices.

The story continues

Atlassian work futurist Dominic Price said he won't “hate” companies that impose return-to-work obligations on their employees.

“If that is the employee value proposition that they believe will work for the majority of their employees, stakeholders, customers and shareholders, then that is their job as a leader,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

“As long as they communicate transparently and are fair to their people, I’m fine.”

But when it comes to the human side, Price said companies make decisions “for the majority, not for all.”

“If you are somewhere and there is an assignment that is demonstrably changing your life (for the worse), then I would like to inform you that Atlassian is hiring,” he said, sharing that the company currently has 304 open positions have world.

“I appreciate being able to be successful at work and in life. That I can achieve my goals and be a good father. That I can finish a project and be home for dinner.”

The WFH tide is turning

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees they would have to come back to the office full time from January next year, including 7,000 people in Australia.

In a memo to staff, Jassy said the company continues to “believe that the benefits of being together in the office are significant.”

He noted that it is easier for employees to learn, collaborate and brainstorm in the office and that the company can “strengthen” its culture and teams to be “better connected.”

Australian gaming company Tabcorp also joined the trend, with CEO Gillon McLachlan ordering 1,000 employees back to the office with immediate effect. McLachlan said this would promote a “winning culture” and “deliver results and success”.

Notably, the New South Wales government last month asked all public sector workers to return to their offices, while the Victorian government told civil servants they could move interstate at any time.

The Commonwealth Bank faced backlash from some of its 49,000 employees when it ordered them back to the office only 50 percent of the time.

Research from Robert Half found around two in five Australian employees were expected to come into the office full-time, double the number last year.

HR expert Graham Wynn said the private sector had been pushing for a return to work for some time and more companies would follow suit.

“I think realistically people have to accept that it's going to happen and we're certainly seeing a huge drop in the number of companies offering jobs with work-from-home or hybrid options,” he said.

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