Will other companies follow Amazon’s lead? That’s a key question for the future of downtown Seattle as the tech giant brings workers back to the office five days a week, as part of a new mandate that goes into effect Thursday.

Traffic impacts are expected in the Seattle area as Amazon workers return to the office full-time. “This was far beyond a delay, this was sending people to the streets in a third-world country in the wee hours of the night and asking them to fend for themselves with no solutions.

Employees have expressed that they aren't happy with the change, but executives say the benefits of in-person work are worth it.

Then, last year, the tech giant asked all employees to come back to the office three days per week. At the time, at least 30,000 Amazon employees did not agree with the return-to-