Amazon says employees who don’t comply with the return-to-office mandate may not get a promotion

Amazon It is to increase pressure on corporate employees who have not complied with the company’s mandate to return to the office.

Employees who don’t adhere to the policy, which requires employees to be in the office at least three days a week, may not get a promotion, according to posts on Amazon’s internal website seen by CNBC.

“Managers own the promotion process, which means it’s their responsibility to support your growth through regular conversations, extended assignments, and completing all inputs required for a promotion,” one post says. “If your role is expected to work from the office more than 3 days a week and you are not committed, your manager will be notified and VP approval will be required.”

“Consistent with Amazon’s holistic approach to promotions, employees will be expected to work from their desks more than 3 days per week if that is the requirement of their role,” says a separate post on Amazon’s internal employee jobs platform.

The post goes on to say that managers are working with Amazon’s human resources group to “monitor compliance” with in-person work requirements, and “this will continue as we evaluate upgrade readiness.”

Some details of the new guidance were previously reported by Interested in trade.

Amazon spokesman Brad Glaser confirmed the announcement via email.

“Promotions are one of the many ways we support employee growth and development, and there are a variety of factors we consider when determining an employee’s readiness for the next level,” Glaser told CNBC. “Like any company, we expect employees being considered for promotion to adhere to company guidelines and policies.”

Tensions have flared between Amazon and some of its roughly 350,000 employees since the company began its back-to-office campaign. in May, The company started asking For employees to work from physical offices at least three days a week, a shift from a Covid-era policy that left it up to individual managers to decide how often team members should be present.

As a result of the assignment, a group of employees He came out in protest At the company’s headquarters in Seattle. Employees also criticized how Amazon handled the decision to lay off 27,000 people as part of job cuts that began last year.

employees Circulate an internal petition CEO Andy Jassy urged dropping the return-to-office requirement, but the company wouldn’t budge. In recent months, Amazon has told some employees they must move to central office centers in different states if they want to keep their jobs, prompting some to quit. CNBC reported earlier.

Amazon’s stance has changed several times since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Initially, the company said it would do so. Back to “Office-centric culture as our baseline.” But as other tech companies lean toward more flexible work arrangements, Amazon She softened her stance.

The company later announced the mandate of an RTO to CEO Andy Jassy He said It will lead to a stronger company culture and collaboration among employees. Amazon has an exception for remote work and considers requests on a case-by-case basis.

“Teams tend to relate to each other better when they see each other in person frequently,” Jassy said at the time. “There’s something about being face-to-face with someone, looking into their eyes, and seeing them completely immersed in whatever you’re discussing, that connects people together.”