In a shift from its previous policy that employees would need to be in company offices at three days a week, Amazon announced this week it would allow many tech and corporate workers to continue working remotely indefinitely as long as they are able to commute to the office when necessary.
The message signed by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Monday explains that Amazon directors would have the option to allow teams to continue working remotely under their purview.
We expect that there will be teams that continue to work mostly in the office, others that will work some combination of remotely and in the office, and still others who decide that customers are best served having the team work mostly in the office, Jassy wrote.
The company's newest policy twist could affect restaurants, coffee shops, hair salons, gyms and other ground floor businesses around Amazon's new South Lake Union Campus, which had been hoping that foot traffic and revenues would increase once Amazon fully reopened its offices in the neighborhood next year.
We've definitely seen the return of workers to those towers as the light at the end of tunnel, said Jeremy Price, co-owner of Sea Creatures Restaurant Group.
Restaurants and shops once dependent on a lunchtime rush of badge-wearing Amazon employees say they are seeking customers who live in the neighborhood, construction workers and a few Amazon workers that are already back in the office.
Amazon's move on remote work also adds uncertainty to attempts to forecast future demand for office space in downtown cores.
The amount of vacant office space across the region jumped this year amid many companies' reluctance to mandate return to offices during a surge in COVID - 19 cases caused by the delta variant.
Commercial real estate brokers remained bullish, however, pointing to underdeveloped Amazon office projects on Eastside as a sign that the company expects offices to remain relevant in the long term.
I just can't believe they're going to find all these lease rates and not fill it, said Brian Hatcher, president of commercial brokerage Kidder Mathews, quoted by Seattle Times. Hatcher is anticipating an eventual shift back to office work.
If Amazon's move does signal a longer-term policy, the move could also cement pandemic patterns in the housing market.
And it's imperative that Walmart employees looking to buy homes no longer look farther out, says Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. He can move farther, tells Seattle Times.
Amazon employees appeared hesitant to conclude that the new policy was a significant relaxation of the company's current stance on remote work.
The new policy doesn't feel very meaningful to me, an Amazon office employee in Seattle who asked not to be named, said in an interview on Monday. The assumption precedent was that a director would not approve individual remote work without a very good reason so I'm not very optimistic that it will change.