Amazon's New Dashboard Tracks Employee Office Hours in Detail
Amazon has given managers a new dashboard. This tool tracks how often corporate employees come to the office. It also records exactly how many hours they spend there. Business Insider obtained an internal document that reveals these details.
The move significantly increases workplace monitoring at the e-commerce giant. Amazon already enforces one of the strictest return-to-office policies in the tech industry. The policy requires employees to be in the office five days a week. It started in January 2025.
CEO Andy Jassy's Vision for Amazon
CEO Andy Jassy announced the policy in September 2024. He said he wanted Amazon to operate like the world's largest startup. Jassy believes teams can better invent, collaborate, and connect when they are together in person.
He dismissed speculation that the mandate was a backdoor layoff or cost-cutting exercise. Jassy insisted it was very much about Amazon's culture. Now, the company has tools to enforce that vision.
How the Dashboard Works
The dashboard started rolling out in December. It shows managers how often employees badge into office buildings. It also displays how long they stay and which buildings they work from.
The system updates daily at 5 pm Pacific Time. It tracks data over a rolling eight-week period. This provides a comprehensive view of employee attendance patterns.
Amazon's Attendance System Flags Specific Employee Categories
The system identifies three categories of employees based on their badge data.
- Low-Time Badgers: These employees have a weekly median time in office of less than four hours per day. This is averaged over eight weeks.
- Zero Badgers: These employees do not badge into any Amazon building during the eight-week span.
- Unassigned Building Badgers: These employees badge into a different building than their assigned one more than half the time.
An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that such tools have been available for over a year. They said the tools help managers identify team members who may need support working from the office.
Cracking Down on Coffee Badging
Amazon began cracking down on coffee badging last year. Coffee badging refers to employees who badge in briefly and then leave. The company informed some teams they needed to be in the office for at least two to six hours for their attendance to count.
One employee compared the crackdown to being treated like high school students. This comment highlights employee frustration with the increased monitoring.
Other Tech Giants Using Similar Tracking
Amazon is not alone in using badge data to enforce return-to-office policies. Several other major companies have implemented similar measures.
- Samsung has rolled out similar tools showing days and time in building metrics.
- Dell informed hybrid staff it will track on-site presence via badge swipes. Attendance could factor into performance and compensation.
- Bank of America and JPMorgan have also implemented tracking dashboards visible to senior managers.
This trend indicates a broader shift in the tech industry towards stricter office attendance policies. Companies are leveraging technology to ensure compliance with their return-to-office mandates.
