Amazon gives authority to managers to fire employees who won't come to office 3 days a week

Amazon has updated its return-to-office policy, allowing managers to fire employees who refuse to come to the office three times a week. 

According to a report in Insider, the company is now "giving managers leeway to effectively fire employees who fail to meet the company's three-times-a-week, return-to-office mandate."

Under the new policy, Amazon employees will be required to come to the office three times a week. Employees who are unable to come to the office three times a week will need to request a formal exemption from their manager.

The rules, which are issued via an internal intranet, instruct managers on how to deal with employees who do not adhere to the three-day-a-week office mandate. 

The new policy does not compel instant termination for noncompliance. Initially, managers are expected to have a private discussion with non-compliant staff and follow-up with a documented email. If non-compliance continues or if an employee is resistant to return to the office, a second meeting within a one-to-two week framework becomes necessary. 

This gathering is proposed to reiterate the job’s requirement for physical office presence a minimum of three days per week. Furthermore, it acts as a warning that protracted non-compliance without a credible reason may lead to disciplinary action even including termination. 

"If the employee does not demonstrate immediate and sustained attendance after the first conversation, managers should then conduct a follow-up discussion within a reasonable time frame (depending on the employee situation, ~1-2 weeks). This conversation will 1) reinforce that return to office 3+ days a week is a requirement of their job, and 2) explain that continued non-compliance without a legitimate reason may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of your employment," the guidelines said.

The tech giant's final move includes involving Human Resources representatives who have the authority to issue written warnings or take other serious actions for policy non-adherence. Extended non-compliance may even result in employment termination, reflecting how urgently Amazon is pressing for a reinstated traditional office work environment after an extended period of remote working.

Amazon corporate employees were initially directed to return to the office for a minimum of three times per week starting May. A July directive advised remote-based workers to relocate near office "hubs," with the alternative being acceptance of a 'voluntary resignation' package. September witnessed Amazon's drastic shift in attendance tracking, with individual records being shared with employees, moving away from their former anonymized data policy.

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