???Is Work From Home Over? Amazon Says Yes.

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The full version of this dispatch includes my not-to-miss October list of Spooky Movies/Films, Emily in Paris and the Myth of American Exceptionalism, and some thoughts on the recent escalation in the Middle East and the compassion we owe each other.

The End of Work From Home?

Right now, I’m in Malta facilitating a workshop for 250 Senior HR professionals. The topic? How AI is transforming the way we learn, consume information, and build organizational culture. It’s a conversation that feels especially timely, considering Amazon’s recent announcement that they expect employees to return to the office five days a week. In many ways, this reflects a labor market that’s slowly tipping power back toward employers—a stark contrast to the autonomy workers enjoyed during the height of remote work.

There’s a lot driving this shift. Part of it is the stubborn tradition of equating physical presence with productivity, an outdated management style that’s deeply resistant to change. And let’s not forget the pressure from the commercial real estate sector, which is struggling to keep office spaces full. But for many employees, this mandate feels like a step backward. They’ve experienced increased productivity from home, along with the flexibility that’s allowed them to reshape their work-life balance. Forcing a return to the office won’t just be a logistical challenge—it’s going to be an emotional and cultural one, too.

At the heart of this tension, I see two major issues: a lack of intentional culture design and a serious gap in manager training.

When companies shifted to remote work, many simply digitized what they were doing in person. The staff meeting became a Zoom call, and the office banter moved to Slack. But here’s the thing: that’s not how culture works. Technology doesn’t just facilitate our work—it shapes it. The tools we choose, the features we use or ignore, even the language we adopt—these are all powerful signals that influence how culture is created and maintained. In a digital environment, culture has to be explicit. You can’t rely on the osmosis of in-person interactions to build it. This is something I emphasize in my Digital Norms for Happy Teams course, because it’s a process that everyone needs to contribute to, actively and intentionally.

The second issue is skills. Managing hybrid or fully remote teams requires a different skill set than managing people in a physical office. It changes the way you conduct one-on-ones, how you mentor your team, and how you create psychological safety. But instead of reflecting on their own shortcomings, many leaders are choosing to point fingers at their employees, demanding they return to the office as if that alone will fix everything. It won’t.

And then there’s the labor angle. Amazon’s decision to enforce a strict return-to-office policy is already hitting legal roadblocks in the EU, where labor protections are strong. This highlights something crucial: the importance of collective organizing. Unions and worker advocacy groups are essential in shaping better working conditions, especially in a market where employers are attempting to reassert control. The lesson here is clear—workers aren’t powerless, and when they come together, they have the ability to resist sweeping policy changes that don’t serve their interests.