Editorial

Amazon Announces Full-Time RTO; Vodia PBX Users Continue to Work from Anywhere

Published on:

September 27, 2024

Amazon's recent decision to enforce a full-time return-to-office (RTO) policy contrasts with the growing trend of remote and hybrid work. While larger companies like Amazon can afford this shift, smaller businesses benefit from flexible WFH models. Vodia PBX enables companies to thrive remotely, offering a feature-rich, cloud-based phone system that connects teams from anywhere. With seamless CRM integration and powerful communication tools, Vodia supports organizations in their digital transformation. Learn why more than half a million users worldwide trust Vodia for their business communication needs.

It looks like Amazon, one of the leaders in work-from-home (WFH) during and after the COVID-19 pandemic may be spearheading a pivot toward full-time return-to-office (RTO), reversing a number of policies it’s implemented since the pandemic. Having permitted its teams to be fully remote after the pandemic hit, the company’s current policy is a minimum of three days onsite, which Amazon, the USA’s second-largest employer, implemented in February of last year.  

On September 16, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy published a corporate-wide message, “Strengthening our culture and teams,” in which he announced Amazon would enforce a five-day per week RTO for all employees beginning January 2, 2025: 

“...we’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID. When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant.”

Is Amazon kickstarting a trend? A few other U.S. multinationals have demanded employees RTO full-time, including Boeing, JPMorganChase and UPS. 

A USA Today poll from April of this year, however, seems to indicate WFH won’t be packed off to the office anytime soon. According to the April 3rd article, 22 percent of the American workforce will be remote by 2025. Some other key statistics: 

  • Around 22 million employed adults in the USA, approximately 14 percent of all employed adults, work from home full-time
  • One-third of workers in the USA who can work remotely do so full-time, with 41 percent working a hybrid setup at least part-time
  • 58 percent white-collar workers prefer to work remotely at least three days a week.
  • Only 16 percent of white-collar workers would consider a role that requires five days per week in an office 
  • 42 percent of office workers would take a 10 percent pay cut to work remotely
  • Approximately 33 percent of hiring managers believe remote work has increased staff productivity

Even if Amazon brings everyone back to the office full-time, it looks like WFH is here to stay. While larger companies can afford the office space and infrastructure RTO requires, smaller enterprises and SMBs continue to gain from their remote and hybrid models, which help them reduce expenses and attract talented employees for whom full-time RTO is a dealbreaker. 

The Vodia PBX is an industry-leading business phone system that makes WFH, or from anywhere, possible. It’s the ultimate cloud phone system, one that connects your entire organization, even if everyone is working from home, from a hotel, from a Starbucks…Vodia makes any endpoint - laptop, smartphone, tablet - an office extension, so your staff can truly work from anywhere. It’s the first and best step you can take in the digital transformation of your organization. 

We give you the richest suite of business communications features available, including auto attendant, SMS, paging, separation of personal and work calls, conference calls and call recording. The Vodia PBX integrates seamlessly with CRMs such as HubSpot, Oracle, Salesforce and Zoho, and with Microsoft Teams. Our best-in-class phone system is easy to install, cost-effective and simple to use; it’s secure, scalable and robust. Working remote and need to run your business from your smartphone? We make it possible.   

And just so you know, we don’t have an RTO policy at Vodia: our global, dispersed staff works from home or at satellite offices in Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Cyprus, Hong Kong and Sydney. So we don’t just give you the best phone system for remote and hybrid work - we use it ourselves. 

Want to know why more than half a million users worldwide, and counting, have made Vodia their first choice for business communication? Give us a call at +1 617-861-3490 or email us at sales@vodia.com and we’ll tell you all about it.

Latest Articles

View All

The Vodia PBX and the OpenAI Realtime API for Healthcare

OpenAI’s Realtime API brings low-latency, multimodal voice capabilities to developers, and Vodia PBX is already harnessing its power. By enhancing IVR with backend JavaScript, Vodia enables real-time AI-driven call interactions, eliminating the need for patterns or webhooks. This integration has a significant impact on healthcare, enabling patients to book or cancel appointments, refill prescriptions, request records, and more, all without speaking to staff, and in multiple languages. This reduces wait times and frees up medical staff to focus on in-person care. With full Microsoft Teams support, the Vodia PBX and OpenAI Realtime API integration streamlines healthcare workflows, boosting efficiency and improving patient outcomes through intelligent, voice-powered automation.

April 24, 2025

How the Hospitality Industry Can Exceed Guest Expectations

As hotels prepare for the upcoming travel season, many are rethinking their communication systems to better meet modern guest expectations. Vodia CEO Dr. Christian Stredicke explains how VoIP, AI, and app-based control are key to delivering smarter, more personalized service. Guests now expect mobile-first experiences—whether for check-in, room controls, or contacting hotel staff. Vodia’s customizable communication solutions help hotels automate tasks, streamline operations, and boost guest comfort while reducing costs. With robust security and seamless integration into existing hotel management systems, Vodia enables hotels to move beyond outdated hardware and deliver the connected, high-quality experience today’s travelers demand.

April 23, 2025

Seatrade Cruise Global 2025: Communications Revolution Onboard - What Cruise Experts Need to Know

At Seatrade’s 40th anniversary, Vodia and Lufthansa Industry Solutions showcased the Vodia Maritime Communication Server and the new CruisR World App—purpose-built for next-generation cruise ships and cost-effective retrofits. Key themes at the event included AI-powered language translation, breakthrough satellite connectivity, UC platforms, and advanced emergency protocols. These innovations enable cruise lines to streamline operations, personalize guest experiences, and meet growing expectations for safety and connectivity. As the cruise industry evolves, Vodia’s solutions position communication teams to lead with smarter, more human-centric technology at sea.

April 23, 2025