Amazon, the renowned worldwide online merchant and internet services behemoth, is eager to return its corporate employees to the physical workplace. Starting from January, they will be expected to change their current routine of working three days onsite to a full five.
The fundamental reason provided for this change by the company is enhanced collaboration; it impacts 4,000 staff members in Ireland working for AWS, Amazon’s branch responsible for cloud computing.
Based on the unofficial report, this announcement has not been well-received by the Irish personnel; some suspect the motive behind this move might be an attempt to decrease staffing levels through natural attrition as employees may decide to quit instead of reverting to full-time office work, an allegation which Amazon dismisses.
Inevitably, some Amazon workers might want to take advantage of the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, incorporated into Irish law, which confers the right to request flexible and remote working to employees. At the beginning of this year, the Workplace Relations Commission publicised guidelines regarding its enforcement. Employers are mandated to review requests in an objective, fair, and considerate manner and present a written justification for rejection. Any employee who assumes that their rights have been infringed can lodge a grievance with the WRC, which has the authority to enforce compliance and grant compensation. How these processes will execute in reality remains uncertain.
At more than 25 percent, Ireland has one of the leading proportions of home-based employees in the EU. Over half state they wouldn’t accept a job that failed to provide flexible work options.
Moreover, Ireland operates an economic strategy closely linked to a relatively small number of chiefly US multinationals that contribute considerable sums in corporate tax and require freedom in operations.
There was optimism that most multinational companies with a significant footprint here would avoid potential clashes by adopting flexible working conditions. However, it appears Amazon’s recent announcement may have thwarted this expectation. The fallout from its endeavour to recall employees into the office will undoubtedly attract significant attention both domestically and across the ocean.