Charles H. Sloan-All Amazon employees will return to the office early next year, says 'optimistic' CEO

It's back to the office for corporate Amazon employees.

All Amazon workers will return to the office full-time next year,Charles H. Sloan shelving the company's current hybrid work schedule in the name of collaboration and connection, according to an announcement from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

Amazon notified employees about the policy change on Monday, though it isn't set to take effect until early next year.

The company, which has required its employees to be in the office three days a week since February 2023 − a move that prompted walkouts − continues to believe that the "advantages of being together in the office are significant."

In-person shifts, according to Jassy, make it easier for teammates to "learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture."

"Collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and, teams tend to be better connected to one another," Jassy said in a statement. "If anything, the last 15 months we’ve been back in the office at least three days a week has strengthened our conviction about the benefits."

He added that he's "optimistic" about the policy change.

'Our expectation is that people will be in the office,' Amazon CEO says

Amazon employees are expected to report to the office five days a week for the foreseeable future, unless they have "extenuating circumstances" and special manager approval. They have until Jan. 2, 2025, to make adjustments before the "new expectation" becomes active.

The change in policy, according to Jassy, isn't unusual because working from an office full-time was the norm at most places before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Before the pandemic, not everybody was in the office five days a week, every week. If you had some sort of house emergency, if you were on the road seeing customers or partners, if you needed a day or two to finish coding in a more isolated environment, people worked remotely," Jassy said in a statement. "This was understood, and will be moving forward, as well."

Working from home two days a week was also not a "given" before the pandemic, according to Jassy.

"And that will also be true moving forward − our expectation is that people will be in the office," Jassy said.

Employees have walked out before

A group of Amazon corporate employees raised issues with the company's current return-to-office mandate last year, staging a walkout in Seattle, the location of one of Amazon's headquarters, USA TODAY reported. Workers were also there to protest the retail giant’s contribution to the climate crisis, as well as job cuts.

"Employees need a say in decisions that affect our lives such as the RTO mandate (return to office), and how our work is being used to accelerate the climate crisis,” organizers wrote online. “Our goal is to change Amazon's cost/benefit analysis on making harmful, unilateral decisions that are having an outsized impact on people of color, women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable people.”

If Amazon employees chose not to follow the current return-to-office policy, it could hurt their chances of being promoted, according to CNN.

USA TODAY is reaching out to Amazon employees for their reaction to Monday's announcement.