SEATTLE — Monday is the first official day back in the office for Amazon workers.
Thousands of workers will start their day from downtown Seattle after three years of working from home.
The move to in-person work was announced by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in February. The company doesn’t believe it can operate at its full potential without workers coming back to the office.
Businesses in downtown Seattle are happy about getting more foot traffic as workers return to work in person at least three days a week.
The Downtown Seattle Association said it expects more workers to come into the city from Tuesday through Thursday.
DSA leaders said more people means more opportunities for businesses, and the city has been seeing a steady increase in worker traffic this year.
In March, there were just under 78,000 people walking around downtown. That’s the highest level of daily worker foot traffic since the start of the pandemic.
Public safety is also improving, with downtown Seattle seeing a 28% decrease in violent crimes compared to last year, along with a 40% decrease in robberies and a 35% decrease in aggravated assaults.
Though businesses may be happy about the return, that’s not necessarily how workers feel.
At least 30,000 Amazon employees did not agree with the new return-to-work policy, according to a signed petition against it. That letter was rejected by Amazon’s head of human resources, according to a leaked memo from Insider.
The return comes are more companies are offering less work-from-home options, and Amazon workers aren’t the only ones upset about it.
Thousands of Disney employees also signed a petition to their CEO, citing unintended consequences and forced resignations.
For now, Disney appears to be moving ahead with its return-to-work policy.
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