Amazon’s Return to Work – Podcast
In this TalkingPointz Chatz, David Danto hosted Dave Michels (me) and Irwin Lazar in a discussion about the new policy from the CEO of Amazon (he who must not be named).
Now, let’s be clear about this. The debate over WFH and RTO will never end. Nor will one model be proven universally superior to the other. However, Amazon’s move is particularly bold as most tech companies have embraced a hybrid model. The world is anxious to see how this goes – but it won’t matter. As Amazon demonstrates now, what’s normal or accepted is not relevant.
Some excellent points are raised in this discussion. The three of us have been covering remote work for decades, especially during the pandemic. The three of us are mostly critical of Amazon’s decision, but sometimes, returning to the office makes sense. What concerns me the most about Amazon’s decision is the weak justification. I’d prefer it if the CEO said, “Because I said so.” I respect rank.
We know that working full-time in the office was normal. We have proven productivity can be equal or better with remote employees. We also know remote work introduces some challenges that need to be addressed. As I raised in the conversation, we only pretend to manage knowledge workers at the office. Most of us don’t know how to do it (measure, coach, improve productivity). The bigger opportunity is to dive into that and learn how to manage knowledge workers. We should not run backward to the illusion we liked pre-COVID. The great managers of the past, such as Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Sam Walton, and John D. Rockefeller, seized change to improve the world.
Audio version