Blue Origin tells staff to catch next rocket back to their desks
(2023/08/03)
- Reference: 1691094792
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/08/03/blue_origin_wfh_rules_change/
- Source link:
Blue Origin, the off-planet enterprise owned by Jeff Bezos, has told staff to get back to the office for a five-day week – a move which sees the twilight of flexible WFH arrangements at the company.
According to [1]reports , executives recently reminded the great unwashed about the new policy dictating a return to the corporate workspace. A company-wide email said that for offices in Denver, El Segundo, Woodland Hills, Phoenix, and Reston, employees with a named desk should stick to the rules because "desk occupancy rates need to improve."
However, offices in the Seattle area, Florida, Texas, and Huntsville, Alabama, are either full or trying to figure out parking constraints.
[2]
"As you know, Blue is a work-from-work company. We are stronger as a team when we are collaborating with our co-workers in person and close to our projects and hardware," the company missive reportedly said.
[3]
[4]
Strong or not, the move is another step towards refusing the work-from-home trend necessitated during the pandemic, and later assumed to be an element of the post-pandemic "new normal."
Together with Blue Origin, other firms reverting to the old normal include stablemates Amazon, the world-beating online retailer which [5]benefited dramatically from the COVID-19 outbreak .
[6]
In February, the megacorp said the [7]"majority" of its 300,000-strong corporate workforce – those not in warehouses etc. – would need to spend "at least" three days on site in the traditional office.
Amazon boss Andy Jassey said: "It's easier to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture when we're in the office together most of the time and surrounded by our colleagues. It's especially true for new people… but it's also true for people of all tenures at Amazon."
More recently, the company told workers it is considering relocating to main offices concentrated in bigger cities, ramping up plans to limit working from home, according to the [8]Wall Street Journal .
[9]Google HR hounds threaten 'next steps' for slackers not coming in 3 days a week
[10]Boss such a tyrant you need a job quitting agent? It works in Japan
[11]Think of our cafes and dry cleaners, says Ohio as budget slashes WFH for govt workers
[12]Results are in for biggest 4-day work week trial ever: 92% sticking with it
That means those located in smaller offices or remote working may be asked to relocate to one of the "main hubs" in Seattle, where the company is based, or offices in New York or San Francisco.
Time limits are being set on getting employees to move to their boss's or team's main hubs, even if they live near other Amazon offices. Decisions are said to be made on a team-by-team basis.
[13]
The policy seems at odds with an earlier strategy from the global box shifter. [14]In October 2021 , Amazon said team leaders will determine when white-collar workers return to the office and how many days would be expected to attend.
Amazon's new hub strategy is reminiscent of a move pulled by IBM in 2017. [15]Big Blue said it expected marketing staff, engineers, and other staffers in America and Europe to relocate to a handful of regional hubs.
The "move or leave" program came with a 30-day deadline and was said to disproportionately affect older workers who have already put down roots with a home and family in a specific area. At the same time, it favored younger workers and recruits on lower salaries, observers pointed out. IBM declined to comment at the time.
The WFH movement seems to be faltering across the IT industry, with [16]Salesforce encouraging staff back in to the office, Google bemoaning the " [17]ghost town " that some offices became, and [18]Meta also telling engineers they work better when together.
This is despite warnings that companies face [19]losing key workers by mandating a return to the traditional workplace, and research has found that these policies are [20]bad for staff morale and can stifle innovation . ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-tightens-rto-policy-work-from-work-2023-8
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/technology/amazons-profits-triple.html
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/20/amazon_mandates_return_to_office/
[8] https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/amazon-asking-employees-to-return-to-main-hubs-3e2dcb89
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/08/google_three_day_week_enforcement/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/05/job_quitting_agents/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/27/ohio_budget_wfh/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/21/4_day_work_week/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/12/amazon_ceo_tells_corporate_workforce/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2017/02/09/ibm_workfromhome_cull_companywide/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/07/salesforce_to_staff_10_donation/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/07/wfh_google_clouds_offices_empty/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/07/salesforce_to_staff_10_donation/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/29/wfh_rto_survey/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/12/wfh_mandates_bad_for_staff/
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
According to [1]reports , executives recently reminded the great unwashed about the new policy dictating a return to the corporate workspace. A company-wide email said that for offices in Denver, El Segundo, Woodland Hills, Phoenix, and Reston, employees with a named desk should stick to the rules because "desk occupancy rates need to improve."
However, offices in the Seattle area, Florida, Texas, and Huntsville, Alabama, are either full or trying to figure out parking constraints.
[2]
"As you know, Blue is a work-from-work company. We are stronger as a team when we are collaborating with our co-workers in person and close to our projects and hardware," the company missive reportedly said.
[3]
[4]
Strong or not, the move is another step towards refusing the work-from-home trend necessitated during the pandemic, and later assumed to be an element of the post-pandemic "new normal."
Together with Blue Origin, other firms reverting to the old normal include stablemates Amazon, the world-beating online retailer which [5]benefited dramatically from the COVID-19 outbreak .
[6]
In February, the megacorp said the [7]"majority" of its 300,000-strong corporate workforce – those not in warehouses etc. – would need to spend "at least" three days on site in the traditional office.
Amazon boss Andy Jassey said: "It's easier to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture when we're in the office together most of the time and surrounded by our colleagues. It's especially true for new people… but it's also true for people of all tenures at Amazon."
More recently, the company told workers it is considering relocating to main offices concentrated in bigger cities, ramping up plans to limit working from home, according to the [8]Wall Street Journal .
[9]Google HR hounds threaten 'next steps' for slackers not coming in 3 days a week
[10]Boss such a tyrant you need a job quitting agent? It works in Japan
[11]Think of our cafes and dry cleaners, says Ohio as budget slashes WFH for govt workers
[12]Results are in for biggest 4-day work week trial ever: 92% sticking with it
That means those located in smaller offices or remote working may be asked to relocate to one of the "main hubs" in Seattle, where the company is based, or offices in New York or San Francisco.
Time limits are being set on getting employees to move to their boss's or team's main hubs, even if they live near other Amazon offices. Decisions are said to be made on a team-by-team basis.
[13]
The policy seems at odds with an earlier strategy from the global box shifter. [14]In October 2021 , Amazon said team leaders will determine when white-collar workers return to the office and how many days would be expected to attend.
Amazon's new hub strategy is reminiscent of a move pulled by IBM in 2017. [15]Big Blue said it expected marketing staff, engineers, and other staffers in America and Europe to relocate to a handful of regional hubs.
The "move or leave" program came with a 30-day deadline and was said to disproportionately affect older workers who have already put down roots with a home and family in a specific area. At the same time, it favored younger workers and recruits on lower salaries, observers pointed out. IBM declined to comment at the time.
The WFH movement seems to be faltering across the IT industry, with [16]Salesforce encouraging staff back in to the office, Google bemoaning the " [17]ghost town " that some offices became, and [18]Meta also telling engineers they work better when together.
This is despite warnings that companies face [19]losing key workers by mandating a return to the traditional workplace, and research has found that these policies are [20]bad for staff morale and can stifle innovation . ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-tightens-rto-policy-work-from-work-2023-8
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/technology/amazons-profits-triple.html
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/20/amazon_mandates_return_to_office/
[8] https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/amazon-asking-employees-to-return-to-main-hubs-3e2dcb89
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/08/google_three_day_week_enforcement/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/05/job_quitting_agents/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/27/ohio_budget_wfh/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/21/4_day_work_week/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZMwjhBIqrvBbRSrG230QegAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/12/amazon_ceo_tells_corporate_workforce/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2017/02/09/ibm_workfromhome_cull_companywide/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/07/salesforce_to_staff_10_donation/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/07/wfh_google_clouds_offices_empty/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/07/salesforce_to_staff_10_donation/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/29/wfh_rto_survey/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/12/wfh_mandates_bad_for_staff/
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Colleagues are distracting
Throatwarbler Mangrove
I suspect that there are two key factors at play: collaboration and the perception of fairness. Collaboration is important for teammates working creative projects together and is fostered by in-person contact. This is especially true for new hires, who get a lot more out of in-person conversations than they do out of remote training. Fairness is a concern because some employees will feel resentful if not everyone is required to come into the office, so even people working solo must have the same rules applied as people working on a team, even if the solo people feel more productive working from home.
Welcome to corporate life!
Re: Colleagues are distracting
Joe W
I enjoy the company of my colleagues - some of the time. When I'm in "the zone" (how I hate that term) I hate distractions, so home office is preferred. When we are brainstorming as a group, in person is better. I'm also training a new colleague (was an intern, did the degree while in my group), and I prefer a big whiteboard (blackboard would be even better) for our discussions.
I also like having a coffee with my colleagues, we have a better atmosphere in the group by also talking about life, not just work.
I'm not going to the office more than twice a week. If you want that get somebody else.
Colleagues are distracting
When I was in aerospace, our small team would have a Monday morning meeting where we shared what we did the last week and what we were working on this week and what inputs we needed from others on the team. We would then go off to our desks/workspaces and do things. Unless we had something scheduled to do at the test range, we didn't need to be in the office. I had a better electronics bench at home than I did at work. I wasn't going to bring my personal test gear and parts into the office. They didn't pay me enough for that.
The office was often too full of distractions as people took calls and moved around. While we needed to collaborate, interrupting each other's work was too often a problem. I know I'd get into a flow and, bang, somebody bothers me with a stupid question and I lose my place. If they had sent an email, I could get back to them when I reached a certain point in what I was doing.
I see the whole push towards getting everybody in the office with the excuses they are putting forth as piffle and wasteful. The article is good in pointing out that some offices don't have the capacity to have everybody in either by not having desks for them or insufficient parking and I would assume, little in the way of public transport. It might be good to have set days for teams to meet up in the office, but many engineers and designers will be better served by working from home in a space they can assemble to fit how they like to work. A long table with outlets, large monitors and no storage is the worst. Even regular plots of assigned cubicles are a poor choice. Everybody needs to put on blinders and noise cancelling headphones to help stay focused which doesn't lend itself to 'synergy', cooperation and sharing of ideas. If you don't get your work done, you will be sacked. Exchanging ideas with coworkers on an ad hoc basis isn't going to be measured in a way that looks good in your HR file.