The move puts Amazon in the same category as companies like Tesla, which have mandated in-person work policies. Companies in the finance, technology and professional business services industries continue to lead in their use of remote or hybrid policies.

In some ways, Amazon was a first-mover in regard to its three-day mandate last year. Companies often follow each other when it comes to organizational decisions like return-to-office, said Viviane Lopuch, a professor at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business and Economics.

Amazon announces a major policy shift, requiring corporate employees to return to the office five days a week starting January 2025, ending the company's hybrid work model introduced during the pandemic.

The return-to-office mandate is a sharp change from its current hybrid policy, which requires employees to work from the office at least three days a week.

Amazon's new policy, starting next year, means that employees will no longer be able to work from home for two days a week by default.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced Monday that all corporate employees will return to the office full-time starting early next year.

Amazon boss Andy Jassy told corporate staffers in a memo on Monday that they needed to return to the office five days a week by Jan. 2.

Amazon's return to office announcement is a warning sign for remote workers everywhere. CEOs want to return value to shareholders, and it may well be that bringing people to the office can help with that.

My company got real strict about RTO last year insisting on 3 days in the office and laying off fully remote workers. 9 months later they have dropped the policy.”

Amazon's hard-core move to push employees back into the office five days a week is a signal that — in the tech sector at least — employers have regained some leverage over workers. Why it matters: The labor market has weakened.