Tue Sep 17 05:31:13 UTC 2024: ## Amazon Ditches Hot Desking, Mandates Five-Day Workweek and Assigned Desks

**Seattle, WA** – In a major shift, Amazon is reversing its embrace of hot desking and is mandating a return to traditional assigned desks for its employees. The move, announced by CEO Andy Jassy in a memo to employees, marks a significant change in the company’s approach to office work and signals a push towards a more traditional work environment.

Jassy, who previously championed the hot desking model as the future of office spaces, cited the need for a more collaborative and efficient work environment as the reason for the change. The company will now assign desks to employees at its two headquarters in the Puget Sound region and Arlington, Virginia, impacting over 88,000 workers. However, offices in Europe that already operated with a hot desking system will continue to do so.

This policy change comes alongside a company-wide mandate for employees to return to the office five days a week starting in January. Amazon has also implemented a stricter policy regarding employee hours spent in the office, monitoring badge data to enforce its return-to-office policy.

The company’s decision to abandon hot desking and implement a five-day workweek is seen as part of a broader trend among tech companies to reassert control over their workforce and return to a more traditional work structure. Many companies, including Google and Meta, have recently moved away from hot desking in favor of assigned desks, citing employee preference and improved productivity as factors driving this shift.

The move has been met with mixed reactions from employees. While some welcome the stability and familiarity of a permanent workspace, others are concerned about the loss of flexibility and the potential for increased stress.

Amazon’s decision to mandate assigned desks and a five-day workweek marks a significant departure from the flexibility and remote-work options that became popular during the pandemic. It remains to be seen how these changes will impact employee morale and productivity in the long term.

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