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Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

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Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#41
post #16
post #8

It is for a three-day return-to-office, not full time. Given the state of the economy, I'd be worried about just quitting. It seems during the pandemic tech workers went for broke and took car leases and moved away banking on being able to WFH for a long period of time. I wonder if Amazon made it clear WFH would not be permanent or an option. There are plenty of tech workers who would like to work at Amazon if a bunc…

Last week I had to deliver an onsite at a company who insisted on doing at their location. You see the thing is...I have been curing a strong feverish cold, but was good enough to go. We were all 15 on a tiny cozy meeting room for 3 days. I am fairly certain half of this team will cook my virus and will feel miserable and might stay in bed next week...Am I guilty ?? ;-)

Yeah

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#42
post #20

> "Staffers who posted in the Slack channel said they were caught off guard by the announcement. Many expressed frustration that they’d have to find arrangements for child care, caregivers for aging parents, or potentially move in order to be within commuting distance of the office. One worker said they’d recently leased a car with an annual limit of 16,000 miles assuming remote work was still an option; if they’re r…

> Boy these employees are about to get what looks like a very expensive lesson in expectation / risk management. Is that really the takeaway, here?

Lowest resolution takeaway perhaps

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#43

Dumb. Covid is endemic now and it makes everything more difficult for everyone. Talking, thinking, concentrating are the first things to get hit by any mild covid infection. Hauling people's asses to office even one single day a week will skyrocket infection rates and hurt productivity in a way nothing else can.

Would like to see some data on this. I don’t know of anyone who’s gotten Covid since… summer or so?

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#44
post #16
post #8

It is for a three-day return-to-office, not full time. Given the state of the economy, I'd be worried about just quitting. It seems during the pandemic tech workers went for broke and took car leases and moved away banking on being able to WFH for a long period of time. I wonder if Amazon made it clear WFH would not be permanent or an option. There are plenty of tech workers who would like to work at Amazon if a bunc…

Last week I had to deliver an onsite at a company who insisted on doing at their location. You see the thing is...I have been curing a strong feverish cold, but was good enough to go. We were all 15 on a tiny cozy meeting room for 3 days. I am fairly certain half of this team will cook my virus and will feel miserable and might stay in bed next week...Am I guilty ?? ;-)

Is a soldier guilty for shooting towards the enemy? Office authoritarians know they're causing this kind of risk in an abstract sense, I say let them reap what they sow.

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#45
post #21

> "Staffers who posted in the Slack channel said they were caught off guard by the announcement. Many expressed frustration that they’d have to find arrangements for child care, caregivers for aging parents, or potentially move in order to be within commuting distance of the office. One worker said they’d recently leased a car with an annual limit of 16,000 miles assuming remote work was still an option; if they’re r…

"what do you mean i can't collect silicon valley salary while working from Montana?"

That is the opening question leading to "why hire anyone in USA or Western Europe when Asia exists?"

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#46
post #2

Amazon Wants 10,000+ Employee Dogs Back in Office, Facilitating Collaboration https://slashdot.org/submission/17188709/amazon-wants-10000-...

I would quit immediately it I had to go to an office with a bunch of dogs in it. It's weird to me that in all the performative "inclusion" that companies get up to, they think it's ok to create a policy that will make a non-negligible portion of workers extremely uncomfortable. Their choice, personally a dog-friendly workplace is a complete nonstarter for me

A bunch of dogs just seems like you're going to have otherwise well behaved dogs getting 'yappy' and annoyed at each other. Or worse.

I calculate my comfort level in an office with N dogs would decrease at a rate of N*(N-1)

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#47
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would that be unreasonable when making Silicon Valley profits for my employer?

Because salary is not determined by how much profit you make but by the demand of your labour in the market.

Newsflash-- the "market" is becoming less constrained by geography.

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#48

> "Staffers who posted in the Slack channel said they were caught off guard by the announcement. Many expressed frustration that they’d have to find arrangements for child care, caregivers for aging parents, or potentially move in order to be within commuting distance of the office. One worker said they’d recently leased a car with an annual limit of 16,000 miles assuming remote work was still an option; if they’re r…

Yes, they should have expected shitty behavior from Bezos and Co.

My take is that this is a cover mass layoff. Amazon is enforcing this now in the hopes that people like these folks resign voluntarily. Another mass layoff would make their share price drop again.

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#49
post #7

It's pretty much a layoff in disguise at this point.

Potentially, and I'm sure they'll make exceptions for this but generally these moves cause your "best and brightest" to leave or to start looking since they have options if they are concerned about stability.

Re: Amazon employees express dismay, anger about sudden return-to-office policy

#50
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That it can hire the same guy for less in Nebraska.

couldn't it do that before they hired them for more in SV?

Not if they wanted someone local who would come in to an office.
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