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Amazon starting to track and penalize workers who work from home too much

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Summary

Amazon has sent a notice to its employees in the U.S. that they must come into the office at least three times a week or face penalties. This comes after other tech companies like Apple and Twitter have implemented similar policies in an effort to get workers back onsite. However, many tech workers have resisted this trend, with a Morning Consult study finding that 48% were working fully remotely and 85% were working either hybrid or fully remote. Furthermore, workers have staged a walkout in protest of the return-to-work policies. Despite this backlash, Amazon is pushing ahead with the policy which will only further strengthen the labor movement in the tech space.

Q&As

What prompted Amazon to track and penalize employees who work from home?
The pandemic prompted Amazon to track and penalize employees who work from home.

How did the pandemic affect the amount of tech workers working remotely?
The pandemic increased the amount of tech workers working remotely, with 48% of tech workers saying they were working fully remotely, up from 22% before the onset of the pandemic.

What have other tech companies done to encourage workers to return to the office?
Other tech companies have threatened punitive action against employees who did not return to the office part-time, and required employees to return full-time.

How have Amazon workers responded to the return-to-work policies?
Amazon workers have staged a walkout in June to protest the return-to-work policies and have expressed anger over the emails.

What risks motivate the shift to working from home?
The risks that motivate the shift to working from home include the spread of Covid-19, with hospitalizations due to Covid-19 up 12.5% in the past week and deaths up 10%.

AI Comments

👍 It's great to see that Amazon is taking measures to get employees back in the office, as it is important to maintain the social aspects of work.

👎 It's concerning that Amazon is penalizing workers who are not in the office at least three times a week, especially during the current surge of Covid-19 cases.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about Amazon starting to track and penalize employees who work from home too much. Apparently they sent an email to employees who have been in the office less than three days a week for more than five of the past eight weeks.

Friend: Wow, that's pretty concerning. It seems like a lot of tech companies are trying to get employees back into the office, and Amazon is no exception.

Me: Yeah, it's definitely concerning. It's also concerning that companies are pushing back against work-from-home practices that flourished during the pandemic, when it was probably the safest thing to do. There are still risks associated with returning to the office, and it's not clear that Amazon is taking those into account.

Friend: That's true. I think the biggest implication of this is that it could have a chilling effect on employee rights, especially if other companies follow suit. It could also make it harder for workers to organize and demand better working conditions.

Action items

Research the labor laws in your state to understand your rights as an employee.
Reach out to other Amazon employees to discuss the issue and share experiences.
Join a labor union or other worker advocacy group to help fight for better working conditions.

Technical terms

Amazon: Amazon is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.
Walkout Protest: A walkout protest is a form of civil disobedience in which people leave their place of work or school in order to demonstrate against an issue or policy.
Return-to-Office Mandate: A return-to-office mandate is a policy that requires employees to return to their physical workplace after a period of remote work.
Financial Times: The Financial Times (FT) is an English-language international daily newspaper owned by Nikkei, Inc.
Blind: Blind is an anonymous corporate message board platform.
Zoom: Zoom is a video conferencing platform.
Apple: Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.
Twitter: Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets".
Silicon Valley: Silicon Valley is a region in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology, innovation, and social media.
Google: Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware.
Meta: Meta is a Canadian augmented reality company that develops and manufactures augmented reality glasses and software.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the leading national public health institute of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.