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Amazon staff to return to office five days a week

Working from Home - Level 0

COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency. However, many workers are still working from home. Amazon has told its staff to return to a five-day week from January. It said: "We're going to return to being in the office the way we were before Covid." It said staff could teach and learn from one another in the office.

Amazon staff often talk about their concerns. In February 2023, Amazon asked people to be in the office for three days a week, and the workers protested. They also complained about Amazon cutting 27,000 jobs. Another complaint was about climate change. Amazon has made a "bureaucracy mailbox" for staff complaints.

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Working from Home - Level 1

In 2023, the WHO said COVID-19 was no longer a health emergency. Today, many workers are still working from home. Amazon has decided to end this. It told its staff to return to a five-day week from January. Amazon said: "We're going to return to being in the office the way we were before Covid." It said staff could collaborate, brainstorm, and invent in the office. They could also teach and learn from one another better.

Some workers are unhappy. Staff often tell Amazon about their concerns. In February 2023, after Amazon asked people to be in the office for three days a week, the workers protested. They also complained about Amazon cutting 27,000 jobs globally. Another complaint was about Amazon's contribution to climate change. Amazon's CEO has made a "bureaucracy mailbox" for staff to complain about company rules.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Working from Home - Level 2

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In 2023, the WHO declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency. Sixteen months later, many workers are still working from home. Amazon has decided it is time to end this policy. The company told its employees they must return to a five-day week from January 2025. Amazon's CEO told staff that: "We've decided that we're going to return to being in the office the way we were before Covid." He said being with other staff would help people collaborate, brainstorm, and invent. He said teaching and learning from one another is "more seamless" in the office. Some employees are unhappy with the return-to-office rule.

Staff have a history of telling Amazon about their concerns. In February 2023, Amazon asked its employees to be in the office for three days a week. Workers at the company's headquarters protested. They also complained about job cuts after Amazon cut 27,000 jobs globally. Another complaint was about Amazon's contribution to climate change. Workers think commuting to work will "accelerate the climate crisis". The CEO created a "bureaucracy mailbox" for staff to complain about company rules.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Working from Home - Level 3

On the 23rd of May 2023, the WHO declared "with great hope" an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency. Sixteen months later, many workers are still working from home. Retail giant Amazon has decided it is time to end its hybrid work policy. The company has told its employees they must return to a five-day week from the 2nd of January 2025. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told staff in a memo that: "We've decided that we're going to return to being in the office the way we were before Covid." He said being with other staff would help workers collaborate, brainstorm, and invent. He added that teaching and learning from one another is "more seamless" in the office.

Some employees at Amazon are unhappy with the return-to-office rule. Staff have a history of telling Amazon about their concerns. In February 2023, Amazon required its employees to be in the office for three days a week. This caused many workers at the company's Seattle headquarters to protest. They walked out of their offices. The workers also complained about job cuts. Amazon cut 27,000 jobs globally in early 2023. Another complaint was about Amazon's contribution to climate change. The workers believe that asking people to commute to work will "accelerate the climate crisis". Mr Jassy has created a "bureaucracy mailbox" for staff to make complaints about company rules.

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