You can Work from Home till Oct 2 – Amazon.com tells its employees

Amazon.com Inc today told the employees that they are welcome to work from home till Oct 2, if their role can be done effectively, from a remote location. It was confirmed by an Amazon spokesman via an emailed statement too, on Friday, with an addition that this was applicable to all such roles, globally.

Source : https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN22D4TK

The announcement comes at a time when everyone is still not sure about the duration of the pandemic, and are trying to figure out the best course of action for their professional as well as personal lives.

Amazon announced their earnings for Q1 2020 after the Stock markets closed yesterday, and surprised everyone by reporting a Revenue of $75.5 Billion with a net income of $2.5 Billion. The total revenue number beat the analysts expectations, however, the Net income and earnings per share (EPS) were much lower than expected. The EPS were reported at $5.01 – analysts expected this number to be around $6.25. The AMZN stock was down by 7% (at the time we checked) as a result of the miss.

Source : https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/30/amazon-earnings-q1-2020/

The total revenue number is a result of the massive increase in demand which was also substantiated by the additional workforce hired by Amazon in Q1 2020 to keep up the pace on logistics.

The work from home announcement suggests Amazon leadership expects this situation to continue at least for the next 5 months, and are taking all measures possible to minimize the risk of their employees getting exposed to an infected person or substance.

If you don’t like this news, chances are you aren’t very comfortable working from home (apart from the bigger concern about the whole situation continuing till the end of Sep). You are also probably worried about how your organization will deal with the situation, and you may have to work from home for a longer period of time. My blogpost 8 Tips on Working From Home like a Pro was quite popular and received a lot of appreciation. Check that out, and if that helps you in any way – help spread the word.

Flying Away,
Jugni

Please note that the comments above are my own perception of the whole situation and in no way quote anyone or indicate how things should turn out. I am equally devastated by the pandemic and the impact it has had on our lives, but I am trying my best to make sense of the news and prepare myself (and my followers) for the uncertain.