Amazon exec says it’s time for RTO: ‘I don’t have data to back it up, but I know it’s better’
“We’re here, we’re back. It’s working.”
Tech company has no data.
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This is extremely typical for Amazon corporate.
They have the data because they ask (corporate) employees about their working experience constantly. I'm sure employees love the option to WFH. But they don't like the data (typical) because they spent billions building cheap, crowded, loud office space around the world.
So what do they do? They pull out the mantra, "Disagree and Commit", which is Amazon manager speak for "shut up and do what I say." Ironically, Disagree and Commit is actually "Have Backbone, Disagree and Commit" and is about finding alternative solutions or data when you think the company is doing the wrong things rather than keeping quiet.
Amazon, like most American corporations is an oligarchy and it's run terribly at the top with dire consequences for their employees, customers, and the world.
cheap, crowded, loud office space
Just reading these words hurts. I’ll never forget visiting Fitbit’s offices. They had these extra narrow desks - imagine a regular office desk but without the extra width for that rolly-drawer. They were strung out in long rows, smack up against each other side to side. And the rows were also arranged back to back. When everyone was sitting down, the legs of their chairs would interfere, and they had nowhere to put their backpacks except down in that mess of chair legs. The place was a constant high volume din, and if it wasn’t you’d be listening to the people in either side of you breathing. Need to get up and leave? Prepare to tiptoe through that entire mess for 10-20 desks until you reach an aisle.
Are there stats on how many more sick days people in the office take? I don't really catch anything except from the kids, and I'm almost never sick enough to not at least send a couple emails.
I was just there to give a presentation and walked through the place once. It gave me such heebie jeebies even from just that… I can’t imagine what it must have been like for people working there.
TIL Fitbit absolutely hates their employees.
The "open office" mindset that supposedly "increases collaboration, reducing errors" blah blah blah.
Because of this nonsense, I reserve meeting rooms every day so I have somewhere to work that's quiet.
this reminded me of a quote from a tv show i'm watching. "Hell is just the product of a morbid human imagination, The bad news is whatever humans can imagine they can usually create"
I’ve heard that before… what show? Is it Foundation?
severance.
The "open office" mindset that supposedly "increases collaboration, reducing errors" blah blah blah.
Because of this nonsense, I reserve meeting rooms every day so I have somewhere to work that's quiet.
Yep. There have been so many people having backbone since this was announced in January. The remote-advocacy slack channel is the third largest opt in channel (pay-equity is the largest opt in, with people posting their salaries anonymously). There have been many protests and many people pushing back.
It’s all about the money to these corporate execs. Tax cuts, real estate value, parking lot payments, etc.
I will say that working in the office with others on your team has benefits. However, I’m not working with my team directly for 3 days a week. We could do a couple design days a few days a month or even a full week a few times a quarter and that would cover the bases. Half my team is on the other side of the US anyways.