Return-to-office mandates are turning everyone from each other

Return-to-office mandates can be divisive. 

Some people like to keep working from home to save from the commute and stay away from distractions. Meanwhile, others are excited to return to their offices, cubicles, and desks.

And with more companies urging their workers to return to their buildings, disagreements are always bound to happen.

Take, for example, e-commerce giant Amazon. Last February 17, the company released an announcement asking people to return to the office for at least three days a week.

What happened next is something we can only see in the modern workplace: a Slack fight!

According to one insider, some employees created a Slack channel to fight against the policy — which later gained 28,000 members.

One employee reportedly wrote that Amazon failed its role as “earth’s best employer” by forcing return-to-office without providing data to support it. Others expressed concerns about finding childcare or moving to another city again. 

News channel CNBC also reported that “remote advocacy” became a common Slack channel status among employees.

However, 700 people who welcomed a return to office life fought back by creating another Slack channel. Its description said workers must “Think Big” about the return to office policy. 

“I look forward to the prospect of seeing more of my coworkers in the office,” one person reportedly wrote in the channel.

Another suggested trying the 4-day workweek, while one even linked Harvard Business Review’s 2021 article “Why You May Actually Want to Go Back to the Office.”

Amazon is yet to address the apparent division among its employees. What’s clear, though, is that the company plans to bounce back from its 40% stock fall and a possible slowdown in e-commerce.

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