Soon, Amazon’s white-collar workers will turn a new chapter: travelling to the office five days a week. Don’t worry. I’m not about to rehash the debate over potential productivity losses or gains of mandated returns. Nor will I dwell on the online retailer’s disgruntled staff who are reportedly “rage-applying” to jobs elsewhere — possibly playing into management’s desire to trim its workforce.
Rather, the point of raising Amazon’s policy for 2025 is to highlight the enduring interest in the office. Did I think in March 2020, when the world went into lockdown and white-collar workers marvelled at the novelty of being moved en masse to their bedrooms, we would still be talking about it almost five years later? I did not. Every time a boss issues a new edict demanding staff come in, my heart sinks because it will reignite the discussion about the office’s merits. Readers comment, telling each other that it is brilliant or disastrous. Politicians, business leaders and commentators get stuck in too.
I’ve been struck by how frequently the subject came up over the festive season. So much discussion over a place where people eat sandwiches al desko, (or a steak if you’re Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK’s Conservative party), type on laptops and watch PowerPoint presentations.