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☆ A hidden reason for San Francisco's remote work 'doom loop': Air conditioning
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

San Francisco remains firmly at the bottom of US rankings when it comes to office attendance. In San Francisco, it was 65 degrees fahrenheit. It's probably another reason why San Francisco remains firmly at the bottom of the rankings when it comes to office attendance by employees. Its report for July 2023 shows visits to office buildings in San Francisco are still almost 50% below 2019 levels. AdvertisementAdvertisementMore CEOs are keen to get employees back to the office now, including several leaders of tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Persons: It's, There's Organizations: Washington DC, Morning, San, San Francisco Bay Area Locations: San Francisco, Washington, Tokyo, Francisco's, Japan's, San Francisco Bay

☆ Just under half of North American office-goers came in for less than 6 hours a day in the first half of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

43% of workers returning to the office came in for under 6 hours in the first half of 2023, said a workplace analytics firm. In the same period, average office occupancy rates in North America peaked at 35% per week. AdvertisementAdvertisementThose clocking in for the shortest stints — representing about 1 in 5 North American office-goers — did so for less than 3 hours a day. Average office occupancy rates in North America peaked at 35% a week during the first half of the year, per Basking's data. The start and end of the workweek were the least popular for office-goers, with North American offices seeing a 17% occupancy rate on Monday.

Persons: —, RTO, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Organizations: North America, Service, Washington Post, North, Employers, Apple, Deloitte Locations: North, Wall, Silicon, Asia, Pacific, Europe, Washington

☆ Smucker's has found a return-to-office solution that workers seem to like — in-person work for only 22 weeks a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Smucker has an RTO policy that requires workers to be on-site only during 22 "core" weeks. The Smucker model appears to be a hit with workers, who can live anywhere as long as they return for "core" weeks. Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy just told employees it was "past" time to commit to its return-to-office mandate of three days a week. Last week, Goldman Sachs told more of its workers to start coming into the office five days a week. Facebook/JifThe company has about 6,000 employees worldwide, but the "core" weeks program is targeted at the 1,300 corporate workers based at its Orrville headquarters.

Persons: Smucker, Andy Jassy, Goldman Sachs, Zoom, Uncrustables —, didn't, Smucker's, they're, Nicole Massey, Massey, Mark Smucker, Lakshmi Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Employees Locations: Orrville , Ohio, Wall, Silicon, San Francisco, Bay, Akron , Ohio, Lakshmi Varanasi, lvaranasi

☆ Amazon VP who was previously Uber's CTO has taken a sudden leave of absence less than 2 years into the job
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The VP in charge of Amazon's ecommerce technology services has taken a sudden leave of absence. Sukumar Rathnam, an Amazon VP who was formerly Uber's chief technology officer, is taking a sudden leave of absence, Insider has learned. Rathnam was most recently VP of eCommerce services at Amazon, overseeing the retail giant's backend technology. It was his second stint at Amazon, after having spent almost 10 years in a retail VP role previously. Many Amazon employees voiced their opposition to RTO over the past 6 months, both publicly and privately, sparking an internal petition and a public walkout.

Persons: Sukumar Rathnam, Rathnam, Dave Treadwell, Ramesh Manne, Treadwell, Sukumar, Sundeep Jain, Rathnam's, Dave Clark, Jay Carney, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Brad Glasser, Glasser, Jassy Organizations: Amazon, Amazon's Locations: Amazon's

☆ Meta's stricter RTO stance risks more unrest amid frequent policy changes, leadership expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

There have been many changes at Meta and the RTO stance may cause more unrest, an expert told CNBC. Other tech firms that ordered staff to work in the office some or all of the time sparked backlash. AdvertisementAdvertisementMeta's stance on remote work shows it's talking tough, but given that other tech companies have faced a backlash over RTO directives, it's unlikely that Meta will have an easier ride. The new policy could be disruptive for Meta staff and affect trust within the company, according to one expert. "Establishing trustworthiness is an essential part of being a leader, and it takes empathy to create that trust," Gardner told CNBC.

Persons: Lori Goler, Goler, Heidi K, Gardner, Ipsos Organizations: Meta, CNBC, Harvard Law, The Washington Post

☆ This billionaire tech CEO is just fine with staff working wherever they want to – and only goes to the office once every three months
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A software CEO told Australia's "60 Minutes" he only goes into the office once every three months. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhile many tech bosses are desperately trying to force their minions back to the office, one CEO is swimming firmly against the tide. Scott Farquhar, the billionaire founder and CEO of Atlassian, said he works from home most of the time and only goes to the office about once every three months. Atlassian rolled out its "Team Anywhere" hybrid work policy in August 2020 during the pandemic. Google staff have been expected to work from the office three days a week since April 2022, while Meta told staff in June that they must do so as well.

Persons: Australia's, Scott Farquhar, Atlassian, Farquhar, Meta, there's Organizations: Nasdaq, Tech, Meta, Google Locations: India, Japan, Philippines, Australia

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy tells employees it's 'past' time to commit to the company's RTO mandate and their jobs are at stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees who disagree with the return-to-office mandate that it's "not going to work out for you." Jassy declined to provide any data that supports his decision to bring employees back to the office. The months-long controversy waging at Amazon over its aggressive return-to-office mandate apparently has CEO Andy Jassy losing patience with defending it. And if employees didn't like it, they could leave the company, Jassy said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Insider. During the Fishbowl conversation, Jassy also argued Amazon didn't use any compelling data when it first allowed remote work during the pandemic.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, it's, didn't

☆ In leaked recording, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wouldn't share data for his controversial RTO mandate. Said it was a 'judgement' call, like launching AWS.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Those were judgment decisions by our leadership team," Jassy continued. As a leadership team, we've decided that we will be better for customers and for our business being in the office." Jassy's comments are the latest in the months-long tension between Amazon's employees and leadership team over the company's aggressive RTO policy. Amazon's top leadership looked at "a number of pieces of data" over the past two years regarding remote work, Jassy said. Another person blamed Amazon's leadership team for over-expanding during the pandemic under the belief that the hyper growth would last for a long time.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, we've, didn't, doesn't, It's, Amazon's, it's Organizations: Amazon, Services, AWS

☆ Return-to-office orders look like a way for elite, work-obsessed CEOs to grab power back from employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bosses who allowed fully remote work during the pandemic want workers back in the office, pronto. Experts say RTO orders come from elite, often male CEOs who prioritize work over work-life balance. AdvertisementAdvertisement"For most employees, life is partly work, but partly things outside work," Stanford economist Nick Bloom said. "These elite CEOs probably work 100-plus hours a week and they're much more work-focused." The mandates symbolize the sharp disconnect right now between the way CEOs and employees think about work.

Persons: Bosses, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Mark Zuckerberg's, they'll, Grace Lordan, —, Lordan, Elon Musk, Tesla, Stanford, Nick Bloom, Bloom, Hasan Chowdhury, Sarah Jackson Organizations: Service, Meta, London School of Economics Locations: Wall, Silicon, hchowdhury, sjackson

☆ Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon hates remote work. Now managers are cracking the whip on returning to the office.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman CEO David Solomon is famously anti-remote work, and has been pushing RTO for over a year. Certain managers have responded by reemphasizing the company's policy that all employees work from the office five days a week. Though he reluctantly yielded on the issue for a while after facing pushback from his top advisors, he made his disdain for remote work public. "This is not ideal for us, and it's not a new normal," Solomon later said at a conference in February 2021 regarding remote work, Bloomberg reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs of last October, 65% of the company's workers had already returned to the office full time, according to Solomon.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, David Solomon, Jacqueline Arthur, Bloomberg, Solomon, it's, you'll, Nicholas Bloom Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Meta, Research, Stanford, Wall Street Journal, Employers Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York

☆ Zoom CEO told employees culture is the company's No. 1 problem and gave his blessing to anyone who wants to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He told employees that company culture was Zoom's top issue. He asked employees to "care about our business" as Zoom looks for new ways to jumpstart growth. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told employees during a recent all-hands meeting that culture is the company's No. 1 problem and wished all the best to anyone who wants to leave, according to a recording viewed by Insider. 1 problem we are facing is company culture," Yuan said, noting many big and successful companies have similar problems.

Persons: Eric Yuan, Yuan, Morgan Stanley's Meta Marshall

☆ Goldman Sachs just doubled down on RTO, demanding employees come back 5 days a week. Get ready for more companies to do the same.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Cadie Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs is asking employees to return to the office five days a week. The company is asking workers to come back to the office five days a week, according to a Bloomberg report. So they are increasingly asking employees to come back to the office full time, even if it means they lose some workers. Meta is asking most employees to return at least three days a week after September 5 or they could potentially lose their jobs. Amazon is asking remote employees to return to the company's nearest "hub," which is a location assigned to them, or find work elsewhere.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, We're, we're, Jason Greer, Greer Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Greer Consulting, CNBC, Meta Locations: Wall, Silicon, COVID

☆ Recent updates for Amazon return to office policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Previous pronouncements about the revolutionary benefits of remote work have been replaced by vague, data-light arguments on productivity gains from being in the office. Apple, Meta, Bloomberg and Google all have gleaming HQs that would look very silly if those companies continued to embrace remote work. Insider has asked Amazon for comment on its RTO policy several times in recent months and the company has responded. AdvertisementAdvertisementAn internal guideline, obtained by Insider, listed Amazon office locations and the dates they are expected to be fully "ready" to support the RTO mandate. That's what some Amazon employees have done by mocking the company's RTO policy and its famous leadership principles.

Persons: Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Amazon's, LINDSEY WASSON, Andy Jassy, Slack, Beth Galetti, Al Drago, Paul Vixie, Andy Jassy's, Mike Hopkins, Hopkins, Elaine Thompson, snafu, they'd Organizations: Amazon, Tech, Meta, Bloomberg, Google, Seattle, Reuters, Amazon SVP, Human, Services, Company, Amazon Video Locations: Seattle, Seattle , Washington , U.S, Beth Galetti REUTERS, Seattle , New York, Houston, Austin , Texas

☆ Goldman Sachs is pressuring workers to return to the office 5 days a week. Here's how its tough RTO stance compares with Meta, Zoom, and others.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs is ramping up efforts to make staff return to the office five days a week. "We have continued to encourage employees to work in the office five days a week." Speaking about the return to office, CEO Eric Yuan told employees earlier this month that relying on video calls prevented employees from building trust and limited their innovation. The mandate aims to help workers "foster healthy relationships and strong collaboration," the company told workers in an email. Businesses urging workers to return say that in-person working cultivates a more open company culture and creates more opportunities for collaboration.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, who've, Jacqueline Arthur, Zoom, Eric Yuan, they'd Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Meta, Employees Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Goldman just threw down the gauntlet in the remote work reckoning. Your company could follow its lead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Cadie Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs is asking employees to return to the office five days a week. The company is asking workers to come back to the office five days a week, according to a Bloomberg report. So they are increasingly asking employees to come back to the office full time, even if it means they lose some workers. Amazon is asking remote employees to return to the company's nearest "hub," which is a location assigned to them, or find work elsewhere. Even Zoom, the company that powered the remote work revolution during the COVID Era, is asking employees who work within 50 miles of its offices to return at least two days a week.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, We're, we're, Jason Greer, Greer Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Greer Consulting, CNBC, Meta Locations: Wall, Silicon, COVID

☆ Amazon is seeing some employees quit instead of moving to a new state as part of relocation mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon spokesperson Rob Munoz confirmed the relocation policy, and said it affects a small percentage of the company's workforce. The e-commerce giant said hub locations vary by team, and each team determines which locations are their hub. Amazon said it will end a perk next year that allows staffers to get one free drink at in-office coffee shops. The company also reduced the amount it reimburses for parking, and stopped providing free Uber rides to and from work, employees said. Amazon said it still reimburses employees' public transportation costs in all major metro areas, and provides free commuter shuttles and campus shuttles.

Persons: Rob Munoz, Munoz, Andy Jassy Organizations: CNBC, Amazon Locations: Texas, Seattle , New York, Austin , Texas, Arlington , Virginia, Seattle

☆ Amazon employees are internally sharing mock leadership principles that make fun of the company's aggressive RTO policy: 'Disagree and comply'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Amazon employees are mocking the company's return-to-office policy in a very Amazon way. But the company's aggressive return-to-office policy , which has become a contentious issue internally , has caused some employees to enjoy mocking the famous principles. Earlier this week, an Amazon employee shared a satirical version, titled "Leadership Principles for RTO," on an internal staff forum. Leaders demote other leaders to individual contributor if they aren't willing to relocate to a hub office. There are extra points for growing headcount as long as it's in a hub office.

Persons: Andy Jassy, it's, didn't, blinders, It's, Butts Organizations: Amazon, Burn

☆ Amazon wants to make RTO exceptions extremely rare, and workers are considering drastic hacks to comply
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company wants RTO policy exceptions to be extremely rare. Amazon is leaning in hard on its plan to get employees back to the office by making exceptions to the policy extremely rare. Amazon managers told Insider they've been directed to only give exceptions in extremely rare cases. One idea: Use a family member's address near an Amazon office and fly in when necessary. For those who choose to relocate, Amazon is giving up to a few months to find a new place.

Persons: they've, Amazon's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Employees, Workers, Amazon Locations: Amazon's Seattle, Texas, Seattle, San Francisco

☆ Meta's updated RTO mandate is as strict as Amazon's, with a few unique rules. Here are all the key details.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Kali Hays | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is putting in place detailed and mandatory rules for in-office and remote work. See new rules on badge tracking, monthly evaluations, and remote workers only allowed in-office a few days per quarter. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg used to say remote work was the way of the future . Meta's guidelines appear to be tailored specifically to avoid remote workers having their cake, and eating it, too. Both will be evaluated monthly, for in-office and remote workers, and employees found to be non-compliant will be notified.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Lori Goler, Meta, Andy Jassy, Zuckerberg, Kali Hays, Hugh Langley Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Google, Employees, Twitter Locations: khays

☆ Meta updates RTO policy with stricter mandate, saying workers could lose their jobs if they don't show up 3 days a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Kali Hays | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Meta in June said it wanted workers to come into the office three days a week. Employees already approved for fully remote work do not have to comply with the three-day per week mandate. Managers at Meta will be responsible for following up with workers on a monthly basis, making sure they are complying with RTO. STATUS TOOL• Everyone - both office and remote workers - must keep the Status Tool updated with your work location, ideally 2 weeks in advance. Leaders can include global office locations and remote work (internal only) as part of their strategy.

Persons: Meta, Lori Goler, Goler, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Ferris, Zuckerberg, we're, •, isn't, you'll, Kali Hays, Hugh Langley Organizations: Facebook, Meta, RTO, Workers, Labor, Office, Org, Twitter Locations: that's, khays

☆ Snap is ending employees' cash food benefit, citing 'on-site' meals ahead of full RTO mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That benefit is disappearing as Snap wants to get people in the office at least four days a week. Instead of the food benefit, workers have been told to "explore" on-site lunch offerings. Snap is ending a benefit for employees to buy food during the work week. It also afforded Snap employees who worked in other offices that did not offer catered food some parity on a company perk they'd never had access to. Snap was one of the first tech companies, after Apple, to reveal to employees such a strict RTO policy .

Persons: they'd, It's, RTO, Elon Musk's, Kali Hays Organizations: Santa, Apple, Meta, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Santa Monica, khays

☆ 5 major companies explain how they've designed their hybrid-work policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Based on five companies' responses, hybrid work is thriving right now. The spokesperson noted that the company believes both hybrid work and flexibility aren't going anywhere. EYOutside of the tech sector, companies are also prioritizing hybrid work. Still, Giampietro noted the challenge of hybrid work for meeting with clients, as some of "those clients may not be in as frequently or may not want us in as frequently." Reach out to this reporter at mhoff@insider.com to share your story and how you feel about your company's current remote, hybrid, or in-person work policy.

Persons: Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley, We've, Ryan Lamont, Lamont, we're, Fiona Cicconi, Chris Schmidt, Schmidt, Frank Giampietro, EY, Giampietro, McKinsey & Company Katy George, George Organizations: Microsoft, Service, Gallup, IBM, Google, Microsoft Microsoft, Yahoo, Google Google, Street, Alphabet Workers, Alphabet Workers Union, CWA, McKinsey & Company, McKinsey Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York City, Americas

☆ 80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans: ‘A lot of executives have egg on their faces’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

After three years of haphazard plans for getting workers back at their desks, the return-to-office movement has entered a phase of remorse. Envoy interviewed more than 1,000 U.S. company executives and workplace managers who work in-person at least one day per week. Kathy Kacher, a consultant who advises corporate executives on their return-to-office plans, is surprised the percentage isn't higher. "A lot of executives have egg on their faces and they're sad about that." The 'great resignation' to the 'great regret'As some business leaders accept hybrid work as a permanent reality, others are backtracking on earlier pledges to let employees work from home on a full or part-time basis.

Persons: Larry Gadea, it's, Kathy Kacher, pushback, Kacher, Who's Organizations: CNBC, Alliance Services, WFH Research, Disney, New York Times, Research, Companies Locations: U.S, BlackRock, New York City

☆ Amazon employees are outraged by a new warning about individual office attendance: 'Is this supposed to scare people?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Amazon staff got an email warning them about their office attendance records. The email and internal ticket also suggest that Amazon may be tracking individual office attendance records, even though it previously said it only saved "anonymized" data . Another said this is "peak absurdity" since most employees who received the warning email have been complying with the rules. One of the points added to the internal ticket said future communications should not include "gaslighting-like language" because "it does not come across well." As a reminder, you can find FAQs about working from the office on Inside Amazon News and My HR.

Persons: they've, I've Organizations: Amazon

☆ Leaked email shows Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is tightening its return-to-office policy: 'Blue is a work-from-work company'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blue Origin tells many employees to be in the office 5 days a week, internal email shows. Last year, Blue Origin told managers it would be flexible about employee work schedules. "As you know, Blue is a work-from-work company," Blue Origin added in the email. A Blue Origin spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. According to the recent email reminder, Blue Origin leaders said working in-person is important from "a culture, comradery, and results perspective."

Persons: Jeff Bezos, didn't, Mike Eilola, Eilola Organizations: Origin, Amazon, Company, Google, Blue Origin's Locations: Denver , El Segundo, Woodland Hills, Phoenix, Reston , Virginia, Seattle, Florida , Texas, Huntsville , Alabama

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