Amazon's CEO: Love the Office or Leave

Amazon's top boss at AWS, Matt Garman, has some advice for employees who aren't keen on the new 5-days-a-week office policy starting in January: find a new job. At a recent meeting, he said that nine out of ten workers he's talked to are happy with this change. Garman believes that in-person interaction is crucial for innovation and teamwork. He even mentioned that some leadership principles of the company are better experienced in an office setting.

The new policy has caused frustration among many employees. They feel that it's a waste of time to commute daily, and there's no solid evidence that being in the office boosts productivity. Amazon has been strict about this, locking out systems for non-compliant employees. This is a step up from their previous policy of three days in the office, which Garman thinks isn't enough to get real work done. The tech giant is stricter than others like Google and Microsoft, who allow more remote work. Garman is excited about the change, but he knows not everyone is happy. He thinks it's crucial for employees to be together to learn and grow. Some principles, like openly disagreeing but then committing to a plan, just don't work as well via video calls.

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