Here's What's In Amazon's Secret Memo to Employees

Some employees will not be happy to hear this.

Working at Amazon  (AMZN) - Get Free Report can be a mixed bag, depending on who you ask -- but according to a new leaked memo to its employees, those who enjoyed the work from home life are in for a rude new reality.

Amazon's new hybrid work policy starts May 1, according to a memo exclusively obtained by GeekWire. The memo addresses the specifics of that return, which include going into a physical office location a minimum of three days a week.

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However, Amazon hired many employees on a remote basis during the pandemic, which surely presents challenges as not all of them are adjacent to an office. For those employees, the memo says, "those unable to comply should talk with their managers 'to explore options such as allowing extra time until you can relocate back to your assigned area or transferring to another team near your location.'”

In other words, to keep your job you'd have to move -- or so it sounds. Luckily, there are some exceptions.

"As there were before the pandemic, there will be exceptions for certain roles and functions that require remote status," the memo reads. "For example, some roles in sales or customer support have historically had remote-working status, and that will stay the same moving forward. If your function or role does not currently allow for remote-work status, you can request an exception to work remotely by starting with your manager to discuss your situation."

However, acquiring a remote exception doesn't sound easy -- it requires S-Team approval, which is lingo for Amazon's 28-member senior leadership team.

Amazon's moves are in line with several other large companies that have done the same as of late, including Starbucks, Google, Tesla, and Disney. 

Despite the fact that studies show that many employees are equally productive as they are in the office and happier overall without a commute, many companies forcing employees to come back cite productivity and collaboration as their key reasons for doing so.