Amazon's Seismic Shift to Full Time Office
Plus, mapping the most flexible US states and Charter's upcoming Workplace Summit
👋 Happy Tuesday! In the Tech Industry, Employee’s Choice — where a company has offices but employees aren’t required to go into them — remains the most popular flexible work policy, with 56% of firms adopting this model. That’s up from 38% of Tech companies in June 2023.
In this week’s edition:
👀 PwC Tracking Employee Locations
🎟️ Charter Workplace Summit ‘24
🗺️ The Most Flexible US States
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THIS WEEK’S FLEX FOCUS 🔍
Does Amazon’s Bold Move Signal Shifting Workplace Dynamics?
Amazon announced on Monday that corporate employees will be required to come into the office five days per week beginning January 2, 2025. The policy change sent shockwaves through Amazon employees and the broader media; Amazon is now by far the largest technology firm to have a full time in office mandate.
The change at Amazon is bound to have ripple effects through the Tech industry. Other Big Tech firms will at least think about whether they need to make any adjustments to policy based on Amazon’s behavior. Smaller firms will wonder if Amazon is onto something, and reconsider their own approaches. At a minimum, Amazon’s new policy will cause churn for both Boards and employees on this topic for the quarters to come.
At the same time, Amazon has always been known for having a hard-charging culture, admired by some Tech firms and avoided by others. For companies that look up to Amazon’s “day one” approach, this might be the motivation required to become more strict on time in office; for others, executives may decide a full return to office is not consistent with their company’s culture or values.
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: FlexJobs reports growing demand for hybrid work, with account management, bilingual roles, HR, and administrative fields leading growth.
WorkLife: Gen Z workers face "RTO FOMO" as hybrid models become the norm, fearing missed opportunities for growth and networking.
Forbes: Recent workplace trends like "quiet vacationing" reveal a deeper issue in corporate culture, where overwork is valued more than well-being, despite seemingly generous policies.
AllWork: A new Coworking Cafe study reveals coworking spaces are significantly more affordable than traditional office leases in 97% of 102 U.S. cities analyzed.
STAT OF THE WEEK 📈
The West and Northeast Continue to Set the Pace on Flexible Work
The West and Northeast United States continue to dominate the most flexible states list. Massachusetts holds the top spot, with 89% of firms offering work location flexibility.
Illinois is the sole entrant in the top 10 from the Midwest. 84% of companies in Illinois offer work location flexibility.
FLEXPERT INSIGHTS 🧠
Charter Workplace Summit ‘24: What Hybrid and Flexible Work Unlock
Future-focused leaders already know that people are a central ingredient in driving business success. This year’s Charter Workplace Summit will help them answer two questions about their organizations: Where should we be going, and how do we get there?
Brian Elliott will join Annie Dean and Harvard Business School Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury on a panel on Oct 8th to discuss how flexible work can drive performance, innovation, connection, well-being, and the competitive advantage companies investing in new approaches create.
FLEX PERSPECTIVES 🎙️
(ICYMI)The Big Shrink: Inside the Changing Office Landscape | Francis Saele
In this episode of Flex Perspectives, Rob Sadow is joined by Francis Saele, a long-time real estate executive now Managing Principal at MorteVita, a real estate future of work consultancy.
Join us as we discuss:
The pressures that office buildings are facing with the shift toward hybrid and distributed work
The implications across geographics and for different classes of office space
How AI will continue to impact how we approach work
Also available on Apple Podcasts.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT ⭐️
With roots dating to 1891 and 8,500+ employees, MYR Group is a publicly traded holding company of 13 specialty electrical construction companies. MYR Group and our subsidiaries work on large-scale electrical construction projects throughout the U.S. and Canada. We contribute to a clean energy future while fostering a safe, supportive, and inclusive work environment. Our culture is built on shared values and mutual respect, where teamwork and collaboration occur naturally.
ONE MORE THING 1️⃣
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