Despite rumors to the contrary, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has confirmed the company has no plans to call its corporate employees back to work.
Amazon has reportedly hinted at a "office-centric culture" in the wake of a home-working order in early 2020 caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
At the recent Code Conference, Jassy said, "We don't have a plan to require people to come back," even though it would be managers, not employees, who would determine the schedules for their teams more than a year later, in October 2021.
He anticipates "proceeding adaptively as we learn," which could mean more autonomy for select groups within the workforce.
The CEO of Amazon claims that while hardware and creative departments have partially returned to the office, engineers continue to show a preference for working remotely.
"I agree that some tasks are more challenging to complete from afar..." Jassy chimed in, "I think it's a little harder to invent remotely."
The pandemic has also had a long-lasting impact on how Amazon recruits new employees. The company has traditionally hired people from the areas where its offices were located, but recently it has become more flexible about the location of its employees.
This novel approach is in contrast to the policies of many other tech giants, such as Google and Apple, which require employees to spend at least three days a week in the office.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, recently sent an email to all relevant employees demanding their immediate return to work or face termination.
While it remains to be seen if Amazon will remain dedicated to the WFH lifestyle, the company currently presents a much more appealing proposition for many employees.
