'Innovation or defiance? Ex-Amazon engineer reveals bold tricks employees used to avoid work from office
By Shweta Kumari | First Published Sep 25, 2024, 6:14 PM ISTJohn McBride, who worked at AWS until June 2023, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share an eye-opening account of how employees resorted to “wild” methods to skirt Amazon’s in-office requirements.
A former Amazon Web Services (AWS) engineer has unveiled a series of ingenious tactics allegedly used by employees to evade the company’s rigid return-to-office policy, stirring up significant attention online. John McBride, who worked at AWS until June 2023, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share an eye-opening account of how employees resorted to “wild” methods to skirt Amazon’s in-office requirements.
“When I worked at AWS, engineers went to wild lengths to avoid returning to the office,” McBride wrote in a post that now has been deleted.. He described these evasive maneuvers as “true ingenuity and innovation” — albeit not geared toward any customer-facing goals.
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Among the most popular tactics, McBride recounted how some employees would badge into the office during lunch hours, taking advantage of free refreshments, only to immediately leave. This lasted for weeks before Amazon tightened its tracking measures, monitoring actual time spent in the office.
In a more technologically savvy approach, some employees went as far as renaming their home Wi-Fi networks to mimic the office’s, deceiving Amazon’s monitoring software into logging them as present in the office while they worked remotely. This method, however, was short-lived once IT teams updated their tracking systems to detect the ruse.
Perhaps the most daring scheme involved employees handing over their badges to coworkers who would scan them in and out on their behalf. Despite the high risk of being caught, McBride noted that some individuals managed to keep up this subterfuge for months.
McBride's X post that gained significant attention has now been deleted.
Amazon's 5-day return-to-office policy under fire
Amazon’s recent decision to require corporate employees to return to the office five days a week is generating significant controversy. In a memo to employees, CEO Andy Jassy emphasized the benefits of in-person work, such as increased collaboration, innovation and cultural connection.
The tech giant recently announced that employees will be required to work in the office five days a week starting January 2, 2025, phasing out its hybrid work model.
McBride's revelations have reignited debate on the necessity of physical office presence, especially in an industry where remote collaboration tools have flourished. The tactics also highlight how determined some employees are to preserve the work-life flexibility they enjoyed during the pandemic.
McBride claims these tactics are part of a broader “silent sacking” strategy, a five-phase plan by Amazon to force out employees. He alleged that Amazon is making work life increasingly unappealing for remote employees by cutting them out of meetings and limiting meaningful work.
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