Amazon reportedly scolded staff via email over return-to-office attendance

Aug 10 2023, 5:59 pm

Some Amazon employees have reportedly received emails reprimanding them for not meeting the company’s return-to-office policy.

Emails obtained by Insider showed that several staffers at Amazon got emails accusing them of not following the tech giant’s mandate that requires people to work in the office at least three times a week.

“We are reaching out as you are not currently meeting our expectation of joining your colleagues in the office at least three days a week, even though your assigned building is ready,” reads the email.

According to Insider, some email recipients have said the warning was mistakenly sent to them because they’ve been meeting the attendance requirements.

At least one employee has raised the possibility of a technical glitch via an internal ticket, saying it’s “not clear” why they received the email, reported Insider.

Amazon told Insider that it responded to the ticket saying that the email was supposed to be sent to employees who had clocked in less than three days a week for five or more of the past eight weeks, three days a week for three or more of the past four weeks; and whose building had been ready eight weeks or more.

“While we’ve taken several steps to ensure this email went to the correct recipients, we recognize that there may be instances where we have it wrong,” Amazon responded.

“If you believe that you received this email in error, please reach out to your manager to discuss your situation and ensure it is accurately reflected in the system. If you are a manager with an employee who you don’t believe should have received this email, please reach out to My HR.”

This email blunder comes after Amazon staff were told to “voluntarily resign” if they didn’t return to the office.

The tech giant introduced its “return-to-hub” policy in July, which requires employees working remotely or in smaller cities to relocate to larger “hub” cities. These employees would be eligible for relocation benefits.

These guidelines apply only to US-based employees so far. The tech giant has not indicated plans to implement the “voluntary resignation” policy in its return-to-office plans in Canada.

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