The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Amazon will require employees to return to working at company offices five days a week beginning next year, toughening a prior three-day mandate. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the change is necessary to "invent, collaborate and be connected" chief executive officer Andy Jassy wrote in a letter to employees on Monday posted to its website. He said the experience of a three-day mandate "strengthened our conviction about the benefits" of in-office work. Companies have been allowing many employees to work from home since the pandemic, leaving downtown offices nearly empty in a number of cities such as San Francisco and Seattle. Amazon has taken a tougher stance than many of its rivals as COVID-19 has become less of a threat. Employees described to Reuters how Amazon has required them to report to, in some cases, distant offices or move to Seattle to keep their jobs. Some employees who were consistently out of compliance with the existing three-day mandate were told they were "voluntarily resigning," and were locked out of Amazon's systems. It is not known whether the new mandate will be as stringent. The mandate has been deeply unpopular among some employees.