Amazon's RTO mandate just hit a major roadblock – it doesn’t have enough office space

Amazon's controversial crackdown on remote working appears to have hit a snag - there isn't enough room in the office.

Staff were originally told to come in five days a week from January. However, according to reports from Bloomberg, the company has now told staff at sites in at least seven cities to carry on working at home for up to four months longer.

Staff in Dallas were told not to come in for five days a week until March or April, and those in Manhattan that the date was likely to be May. Meanwhile, according to Business Insider, those in Atlanta, Nashville and Houston have also been told that there will be delays.

In September, CEO Andy Jassy wrote to staff, saying "we've decided that we're going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID."

That meant going back to the office full-time, up from the current three days a week, and with no hot-desking.

"For the vast majority of employees, assigned workspaces will be available by January 2, 2025," the company said at the time.

"If your assigned workspace isn't ready by January 2, we still expect everyone to begin fully working from the office by that date."

The announcement was widely opposed by workers. A recent survey by professional social network Blind found that 91% of 2,585 verified Amazon professionals were unhappy with the order.

Some told Blind they'd quit rather than comply, with three-quarters saying they'd be looking for another job. Others said they'd or just wait to be fired.

"My morale for this job is gone, gonna totally check out till PIP," said one.

However, others have suggested that this was playing into Amazon's hands, with the change in policy a cynical move to reduce headcount without having to make expensive layoffs.

Amazon has said that the majority of workers will be returning to the office in January as planned.

The move in the tech industry away from hybrid working shows no signs of abating.

Over the last year, Salesforce, Dell, Apple, and Disney have all tightened up their hybrid working policies, while Starling Bank has mandated a minimum of 10 days a month in the office and BT requiring at least three days a week.

Research tends to show, though, that staff allowed to work flexibly are just as productive as those in the office. A recent study found that enterprises risk losing their best talent when introducing return to office mandates.