POV: Amazon’s RTO mandate is a massive failure of imagination

Amazon’s recent return-to-office (RTO) mandate, which dictates that employees must work from an Amazon office five days per week, exemplifies a concerning trend of leaders attempting to turn back the clock to old management practices in a misguided attempt to revive workforce engagement. 

I have helped lead talent teams for some of the most influential businesses in the world, including Accenture, Apple, and Deloitte. And I strongly believe that these efforts to force workers to return to outdated office mandates, are doomed to fail. 

Here’s why:

(Fast Company contacted representatives for Amazon who declined to comment beyond CEO Andy Jassy’s original announcement.)

RTO mandates drive away talent 

Because forcing people back to their desks won’t fix what’s driving talent away. This policy is not just an ill-conceived quick fix—it reveals a deeper leadership failure. Amazon’s leadership, like many other companies, is clinging to old ways of thinking instead of evolving to meet the needs of today’s workforce and the potential of new working models.

The unintended consequences of these mandates, particularly for women, are already becoming clear. A survey from Upwork revealed that among C-suite leaders who enforced RTO policies 63% saw women disproportionately quit as a result, and 57% say the loss has hurt productivity for their organization. 

Plus, Deloitte’s 2023 Women at Work Report determined that a lack of flexibility is one of the top-cited reasons for women who chose to leave their employer. This is a talent drain companies cannot afford and it is a significant loss of senior talent, creativity, and leadership, which carries long-term negative consequences for innovation and business performance.

RTO mandates hurt productivity

Amazon, like many companies mandating a return to the office, seems stuck in a pre-pandemic mindset where productivity is measured by physical presence. But the pandemic taught us that productivity isn’t tied to a location—it’s about how work is structured and led. 

According to McKinsey, 83% of workers say they work more efficiently and productively at home. Their research also indicates that even fully remote companies with the right operating models can outperform their in-office peers. Mandating RTO without addressing real issues like meeting overload, unrealistic expectation-setting, and a lack of human connection won’t solve underperformance—it will only push top talent out the door and hurt productivity. 

Flexibility is no longer just a perk—it’s a necessity. According to the same McKinsey study, 87% of Americans want to work in a flexible environment. Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are rethinking work entirely, opting for freelancing or consulting careers that offer autonomy and flexibility. Companies ignoring these trends risk losing their most skilled employees in a tight labor market and risk losing out on the innovation that younger generations can bring.

What leaders can do

In my forthcoming book, Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts Are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership, my coauthor, Kelly Monahan, and I argue that tackling employee disengagement and declining productivity requires a leadership shift. It’s not enough to enforce mandates—leaders must create environments that meet the human needs of their workforce before they can reasonably expect greater output and outcome for their business. 

Here are a few ways leaders can rethink their approach:

• Develop emotional maturity: Today’s leaders must build trust, foster relationships, and create psychological safety. This requires the maturity to set aside personal interests, engage with curiosity, and communicate with transparency and compassion.
• Focus on connection over control: Rather than micromanaging, leaders should create intentional spaces for collaboration and meaningful connection. To earn employees’ trust, we must first extend our own trust to them.
• Rethink work structure: Reduce unnecessary meetings and prioritize high-impact work. Ensure employees have time for deep thinking and creativity, as well as flexibility to manage their personal needs.
• Lead with purpose and flexibility: Employees are looking for work that aligns with their purpose, skills, values, and needs. Support their well-being by offering the flexibility they need to integrate work and life.

Some organizations are already thriving by embracing this shift. Companies like Atlassian, HubSpot, and Microsoft have implemented flexible models allowing employees to choose how they work. 

According to Gallup, organizations offering flexibility see up to a 59% reduction in turnover and a 41% decrease in absenteeism—data Amazon’s leadership should take note of. These companies know success is built on trust, not enforcing outdated policies.

The bottom line on RTO mandates

At the core of Amazon’s RTO mandate is a leadership problem. I believe the company’s decision reflects a failure to imagine new ways of leading in a world that has fundamentally changed. Where work happens is less important than how it’s done. 

The future of work is here—now we need to focus on refining the flow of work. To aid this process, leaders must prioritize human connection, well-being, and engagement while rethinking how teams collaborate and interact. Endless back-to-back meetings, high-pressure deadlines, and the expectation of always being “on” are unsustainable and counterproductive.

Meanwhile, as Amazon pushes its RTO mandate, another story has slipped under the radar. Recent management layoffs at Amazon reveal a bigger issue—overhiring and unsustainable team growth. When companies resort to layoffs, they further erode trust. Coupled with the RTO mandate, employees receive a clear message: leadership hasn’t learned from the past few years. Instead of innovating and evolving, they are reverting to outdated practices that don’t serve their teams or business goals.

Ultimately, I fear that Amazon’s actions risk pushing the company down the same path as X (formerly known as Twitter). X’s rigid return-to-office policies and layoffs led to an exodus of top talent, including key engineers and creatives. By moving away from employee-centered policies, Amazon risks a similar outcome—losing the very talent it needs to stay competitive in an increasingly flexible, skills-driven market.

The lesson here is simple: rigid RTO mandates won’t solve underperformance or engagement issues. Leaders must abandon patchwork fixes and address the real challenges disengaging their people. Employees aren’t asking for less work or lower standards; they’re asking for environments that support their well-being, allow for flexibility, and trust them to deliver results.

If companies like Amazon don’t meet these demands, they risk being left behind by companies bold enough to act on the belief that people are their greatest asset. Success today isn’t about where people work—it’s about how they’re led.