Managers urged to make 'high-judgement decisions' on such cases
Managers at Amazon now have the authority to terminate office deniers as part of the major employer's latest move to enforce its three-day on-site policy.
Business Insider reported last week that Amazon shared a new global manager guidance on its internal portal that includes a three-step process for managers to enforce the rule.
According to the report, the first step includes carrying out a private conversation with an employee who is non-compliant to the company's office return policy.
If the non-compliance continues, the second step of the process commences with follow-up discussions within a couple of weeks.
"This conversation will 1) reinforce that return to office 3+ days a week is a requirement of their job, and 2) explain that continued non-compliance without a legitimate reason may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of your employment," the guidelines said as quoted by Business Insider.
The last step of the process includes the involvement of a human resources representative who will deliver a final written warning to the non-compliant employee, which could "ultimately conclude in termination of employment."
Non-compliance with remote work policy
Previous reports have indicated that Amazon has already begun tracking and penalising employees who are not complying with the company's remote work policy.
Learn what is a remote work policy in this article.
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This comes as major employers attempt to add more teeth to their office return policies amid strong resistance from employees.
Early this year, nearly 30,000 Amazon employees signed a petition against the company's return-to-office mandate, a move that its top HR official rejected.
Corporate workers at Amazon also previously staged a walkout in protest of the company's return-to-office policy.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, however, remained steadfast on the company's commitment to enforcing its three-day on-site rule.
"If you can't disagree and commit… it's probably not going to work out for you at Amazon because we are going back to the office at least three days a week," Jassy previously told employees.
Managers urged to ‘assume positive intent’
Despite the new regulation, Amazon is still encouraging its managers to emphasise to employees that they are trying to "understand" their circumstances before asking them why they fail to come to the office regularly.
They should also "be prepared" by reviewing the employee's badge data and practicing what they tell them ahead of time.
Employers are also urged to "assume positive intent" and "make high-judgement decisions" regarding employees' individual situations.
Rob Munoz, Amazon spokesperson, told Insider that exceptions to the company's return-to-office mandate would be made on a "case-by-case basis."
"As is the case with any of our policies, we expect our team to follow them and will take appropriate action if someone chooses not to do that," Munoz told Insider in a statement.
Amazon has previously emphasised that transitioning back to the office will result to "long-term benefits" that will increase the company's ability to deliver for its customers, to bolster its culture, and to develop employees.