Hi Consumables SAS team, It’s been some exciting few days getting to know many of you via virtual meet and greets and pods. I look forward to meeting everyone over the next few weeks. Thanks for investing time into helping me get to know you and sharing your thoughts/questions about our team. I wanted to provide 2 important updates: 1) Return to Office and 2) Election Day guidance. Return to Office Update Per the company COVID-19 updates via https://inside.amazon.com/en/Pages/Informationregarding-the-2019-Novel-Coronavirus-global.aspx, work that can be done from home can continue through June 20, 2021. Please discuss with your manager on how this impacts you. Also note that the office is currently open at limited capacity. If you are interested in coming into the office before June 20, 2021, please discuss this with your manager and follow all the requirements (can be found in the same link). If the interest to work in the office is significant within our org, we will need to have a sign up mechanism to ensure we don’t surpass capacity requirements. Top Things Amazonians Should Know (section updated October 20, 2020) The health and safety of our employees is our top priority, and it will be some time before things return to normal. Accordingly, work that can effectively be done from home can continue to be done from home through June 30, 2021. We’re seeing an increase in the number of employees returning to the office for some or all of their work. One of the things we’ve learned over the course of the pandemic is that some types of work are effectively done at home, and other types are best done at the office. For example, a quiet, distraction-free environment may be ideal for a writing project, but it’s usually more effective to brainstorm and break down complex ideas at the office. At Amazon, most roles have a mix of both types of work. There is still no roadmap for COVID-19, and it would be premature to make longterm decisions before we know how and when the pandemic will end. We hope that, as local governance allows and vaccines become available, we can return to more normal office operations. We also look forward to applying our learnings from this time to find ways to work more effectively, whether that’s from home, the office, or a combination. In the meantime, for work that can be done more effectively in the office, Amazon offices remain open for your use. We maintain strict safety protocols, including temperature screenings upon entry, physical distancing guidelines, face covering requirements, office occupancy limits, and enhanced cleaning in all offices. We encourage you to use the location that enables you to be most effective. Check out this short video on what to expect in the office. Election Day guidance Please see link and callout below on Election Day (Nov 3) guidance. I encourage all of you to have a plan in place to exercise your right to vote. As a child of immigrants and being the 1st generation born in the US from my family, I’m always inspired by my parents’ commitment to voting. This year, it’s more important than ever to exercise this right. Please make your plans and discuss them with your manager so they can support you in clearing your calendar and taking your excused time off. From daily dive https://dailydive.a2z.com/contents/23256374: Time off to vote – In all 47 states with in-person voting, if employees lack adequate time before or after their scheduled workday to vote, they can request and we will provide excused time off. The number of hours and pay provided to employees varies by state, inline with local laws. Please let me or your manager know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks, Joyce
