, Columnist
Amazon, Microsoft and the Seattle Shakeout in Remote Work
As the tech giants tinker with office policies, workers will want to know: Who gets to go kayaking?
The office is underemployed.
Photographer: David Ryder/Getty Images
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When Amazon announced in March that most of its 60,000 corporate workers in the Seattle area would return to the office by fall, some employees were infuriated. A few threatened to quit for reasons both substantial and less consequential, including one who said post-pandemic rules would interrupt his regularly scheduled kayaking.
At the same time, Microsoft, headquartered in nearby Redmond, said employees could work from home, the office or in a hybrid arrangement.