Amazon's Move or Quit Ultimatum
Plus, how distributed teams can make rare in-person moments count
👋 Happy Tuesday! New data from the U.S. Census Bureau's survey of 150,000 firms reveals a striking disconnect: while 7% of businesses worry that remote work hurts productivity compared to just 2% who think it helps, a staggering 70% don't actually track office attendance and 75% don't monitor remote work performance.
In this week’s edition:
🚚 Amazon’s Move or Quit Ultimatum
🥞 RTO Compliance “Flat as a Pancake”
🎥 Making In-Person Count in a Distributed World
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THIS WEEK’S FLEX FOCUS 🔍
Amazon’s Move or Quit Ultimatum
Amazon is ordering thousands of corporate employees to relocate to specific hubs like Seattle, Arlington, and Washington DC—giving workers just 30 days to decide and 60 days to move or resign, with no severance for those who choose the latter.
The company is rolling out the mandate primarily through 1:1 meetings and town halls rather than mass company-wide announcements, with affected employees sharing information through internal Slack channels.
While Amazon already requires five-day office attendance, the new mandate demands employees work from specific locations, regardless of where they currently live or were originally hired. The policy affects mid-career professionals with established lives, school-age children, and working partners who face difficult choices about uprooting their families.
The timing coincides with broader workforce concerns at Amazon. CEO Andy Jassy recently indicated that AI advancements will likely reduce the company's headcount in coming years, and the company has already conducted multiple rounds of layoffs since 2022.
FLEX WORK QUICK HITS 💥
Stay ahead of the curve with our curated roundup of the trending flexible work stories making waves right now. Here's what you need to know 👇
Fast Company: New research shows companies with five-day office mandates lose high-performing employees at higher rates, with 63% of C-suite leaders reporting RTO policies caused disproportionate numbers of women to quit.
Yahoo Finance: Amazon signs 141,000sf WeWork lease in Silicon Valley to support its five-day office mandate, part of ongoing expansion after the company delayed RTO deadlines in multiple cities due to insufficient office space.
The Telegraph: Over 300 University of Liverpool workers strike during open days to protest three-day office mandate.
Microsoft WorkLab: Research shows remote workers view evening hours as productive catch-up time while hybrid workers experience the same hours as stress, as 29% of workers dive back into email by 10 pm and meetings after 8 pm surge 16% year-over-year.
STAT OF THE WEEK 📈
RTO Compliance Stays “Flat as a Pancake”
The data reveals a growing compliance gap as companies tighten office requirements while employee behavior remains largely unchanged. Policy-required days have increased 10% since Q1 2024, reaching an index of 110 by Q2 2025, while actual office attendance has stayed remarkably flat, fluctuating only 1-2% each quarter with an index hovering around 100-102.
Stanford's Survey of Working Arrangements shows that despite escalating mandates, full-time days worked from home have remained stable. This divergence suggests employees are finding ways to maintain flexibility even as formal policies become more restrictive, with actual compliance trailing significantly behind corporate expectations across the past year.
FLEXPERT INSIGHTS 🧠
Save Your Spot: Closing the Connection Gap
Work Forward CEO Brian Elliott joins The Modern People Leader on June 25th to tackle a critical challenge: how distributed teams can make their rare in-person moments actually matter. Rather than defaulting to blanket RTO mandates, Brian will explore strategic approaches to connection-building for teams that are primarily distributed.
The live webinar, "The Connection Gap: Making In-Person Count in a Distributed World," will feature also leaders from Dropbox, Charlie Health, and Marco, covering the business case for team gatherings, common IRL mistakes, and practical frameworks for offsites that drive real impact.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT ✨
Lemonade is a digital insurance company based in New York City, founded in 2015, that leverages AI to provide fast and efficient home, renters, pet, and term life insurance services. The firm aspires to deliver a fast, simple, and delightfully human insurance experience while employing behavioral economics and driving social impact. Lemonade operates primarily online but has key offices in the United States, Germany, and The Netherlands.