Amazon Is Missing One Crucial Thing For RTO

In this week’s edition of Forbes Edge we’ll offer ways to ward off the holiday blues, take a look at Starbucks’ updated parental leave policy and more. But first, why Amazon is facing a roadblock in implementing its 2025 return-to-office policy:

Just weeks before Amazon employees are set to return to their offices five days a week, some are being asked to continue working at least partially remotely because of a lack of office space, according to Business Insider.

Amazon made news earlier this year when it announced a full RTO starting January 2, much to the chagrin of some of its workers. About 500 employees sent a letter to AWS CEO Matt Garman in October protesting the mandate, while others started “rage applying” to other jobs with more flexibility.?

Now, all that frustration is likely put on pause, at least for workers based out of Amazon’s Atlanta, Houston, Nashville and New York offices. According to a memo from the real estate team reviewed by Business Insider, delays could go as long as May.?

While we reported the post-Labor Day return-to-office had cooled this year, 2025 is already setting a new trend when it comes to RTO mandates. According to Flex Index’s Q4 report, 32% of U.S. firms have implemented five-day in-office policies, including Dell, the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post and Walmart. Despite the high-profile names, that share is still less than the 43% of companies that offer “structured hybrid” policies, where employees are required to be in-office for a certain number of days per week or quarter.?

On a programming note, this will be our last Forbes Edge newsletter for the year. Thank you for being with us every week, and I hope you have a lovely holiday season and a much deserved break! We’ll be back in 2025.

P.S. If you haven’t yet filled out our feedback survey, you can do so here. It will take less than two minutes!

—Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Careers Reporter

Work Smarter

Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter

• Have the holiday blues? Here are seven ways to ward them off.?
• Don’t make these mistakes if you’re job hunting over the holidays.?
• Take a look at the top five digital nomad destinations for 2025.?

TOUCH BASE

News from the world of work

Silicon Valley is stepping up in Trump’s fight to keep manufacturing jobs in America, David Jeans reports. Top venture capital firms including General Catalyst, Palantir and 8VC are backing the New American Industry Alliance, a lobby trade group advised by former Trump officials.???

Tutoring is one of the most popular side gigs taken up by young professionals, who usually go through agencies to reach a larger client base. One such group, Forum Education, has instead positioned itself as an elite talent agency for scholars, reports Emma Whitford. Some of its most sought-after tutors earn up to $1 million dollars a year charging $1,000 an hour for private school tutoring.?

Is banking the new tech? Computer science majors and tech workers are increasingly flocking to jobs in financial services, where companies are looking for talent to help them build out AI and cybersecurity products.?

Starbucks is tripling its barista’s paid parental leave come March, Bloomberg reports. The coffee chain will give birth parents 18 weeks of paid leave, up from six, at their average pay. Non-birthing parents will also be given 12 weeks of paid parental leave. It’s a rare increase in the retail industry, where only 2% of companies that disclose their policies offer similar leave.?

Are robots already taking over your job? Not quite, but one company is getting closer. Humanoid robot maker Figure released its second model on Monday, making it the second company to put a robot to work at client warehouses and factories.

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Quiz

Which retail giant was found to have manipulated injury data to make their warehouses seem safer than they are, and ignored internal reports linking injuries to speed and productivity quotas (though the company denies they are enforced), according to a recent Senate report?

A. Walmart

B. Target

C. Costco

D. Amazon

Click here to see if you got it right.