Amazon is seeing some employees quit instead of moving to a new state as part of relocation mandate::As Amazon tries to get employees back to the office, some staffers are being told to relocate to hubs in different states if they want to keep their jobs
Couldn’t you decline to move and then force the company to fire and/or lay you off?
That probably depends on their contract and location. Not coming to the office after being told to might result in being fired with cause which may result in loss of severance pay. It might also constitute abandonment of the position which can be seen as “quitting” in some place.
This is the position I’m in. My leadership (multiple levels up) gave us approvals to move away from Seattle (but not too far) after Jassy unequivocally stated that WFH wasn’t going away and it was up to teams to decide how they wanted to do it.
So, I bought my first house for my family 90 min away without traffic. Then he swings in with his fragile little ego a year later and tells us “oh, you riff better in office” and forces everyone to come back. Zero data. Nothing of quantifiable value. Lies to our faces. This whole thing is about real estate. 100%, no doubt about it.
I have been VERY openly vocal since then that I will NOT be back in the office more than once a week and will leave if they force it on me.
It’s probably the wrong move politically, but I’m pissed off and if I can set an example for the kids who have since joined as newbies, things will be better for them.
But I now have zero issues telling managers 3-4 levels up in public meetings that I won’t be in the office specifically because I don’t want to be. Fuck the high horse he rode in on.
You (Amazon leadership) wanna demand we use data to prove every single decision we make and completely dominate the company culture with that? Fine. I’ll keep using that argument against it. If I’m fired, I will have zero trouble finding a new gig. In the meantime, I will sit at my home office and ignore every single email I get complaining I don’t badge into the office 3 times a week and have a 2.5 hour drive each way on those days.
Yes, I moved with the expectation that I’d be doing that once a week permanently. I’m fine with that. So are ALL my managers. Jassy can bite me. I’m really angry if you can’t tell.
Got to love that Earn Trust and Day 1 culture. Also it’s amazing how high up some of the decisions are being made without consulting even VPs. The RTO, layoffs, the recent Return to Team, and the shaming email were all done without some VPs knowledge. That seems like a good way to erode trust throughout the entire structure.
I love seeing people stand up to these mandates. I flat out ask the purpose for my physical presence, and unless it’s an objectively good reason AND everyone else required will be present, I’m staying away. I’ve too often arrived at an office to sit on a Teams call.
I’m not contributing to traffic pollution and seeing my kids less to satisfy someone’s whim or real estate investment. As far as I’m concerned, that ship has sailed. Virtual whiteboards exist. Welcome to the future.
