When I was at AWS around 2018, well before the pandemic, I worked on a team that was structured as remote first. I spent two days appx in the office a week because I had an easy commute and it was nicer than my two bed apartment I shared with a roommate at times. We worked with IT to get a videoconference setup going where we could all hang out on Chime together for hours and hours through the workday. We did a lot of good work and had a manager who cared a lot about the ability for his team to have the flexibility they need to do their best work. And they did do their best work remote, with multiple team members living miles and miles from any corporate location. We had quarterlyish meetups and hung out at conferences together. We retained talent we couldn't have otherwise.
That Amazon doesn't trust its managers to make these decisions best for their two-pizza scope says a lot about the hierarchy of the company.
Also can't forget the environmental and economic impacts of more commuting, especially in what could still be considered a wartime energy market.
That Amazon doesn't trust its managers to make these decisions best for their two-pizza scope says a lot about the hierarchy of the company.
Also can't forget the environmental and economic impacts of more commuting, especially in what could still be considered a wartime energy market.