Anonymous Amazon Worker Shares What It’s Actually Like To Work For Amazon
Interview With Author
Working at Amazon and the sometimes inhumane ways the company treats its employees has been on a lot of people’s minds lately. Just yesterday, Bored Panda published an article about entrepreneur Dan Price’s insights about how Amazon exploits the people that work for it.
However, this story isn’t about Price. It’s about the experience of Imgur user Somethingslightlyclever who has been working at Amazon for the past half a year. They listed the pros and cons of having taken up a job at the company and you’re invited to have a read through it, dear Pandas. They compared it to working on the Death Star and shared how you’re held accountable for resting while you’re on your break.
Spoiler warning: the list of cons is much, much longer than the list of pros. Unfortunately. What’s more, the Imgur user touched upon another important aspect of work: the commute and how much time it eats up each and every day. While plenty of Americans have the ability to work from home during the pandemic, according to Pew Research, others aren’t as lucky and have to worry about being exposed to the Covid-19 virus.
Somethingslightlyclever told Bored Panda that they got an earpiece to listen to audiobooks during work which helps them deal with the stress and the solitude. In fact, that’s the only thing still keeping them at their job. “We aren’t supposed to have them, but I hide mine. It’s the single biggest factor in staying there. Before getting that, I was losing my mind. The job is as boring as counting change. It’s terrible being stuck in your own head for 10 hours a day over and over. I was talking to myself. Being able to focus on the audiobooks or music has saved my sanity.”
An Amazon employee opened up about their experience at the company, having worked there for around 6 months
Image credits: Amazon
The list of pros is incredibly short while the cons go on and on
In the Imgurian’s opinion, Amazon could have a more ‘chill’ approach to quotas. “They constantly come by and tell you where you stand and what you should be at. It’s like a broken record. I don’t mind having to walk 5 or 6 minutes to the bathroom or 8 minutes to the break room. I do mind them getting on me for not being productive during that time,” they pointed out their biggest issue with the job.
Despite all the cons, Somethingslightlyclever said that if anyone’s thinking of working at Amazon, it’s “not the worst job” and suggested that people “give it a shot.” A lot depends on the location. “Being able to listen to audiobooks while at work is the only reason I’m still able to work there. That being said, there is a rumor that they will be taking our phones away soon. In which case I’ll have to leave.”
The cons outnumber the pros by a longshot
According to Imgurian Somethingslightlyclever, the best thing about working at Amazon is getting paid time off. Or rather 30 minutes each day that you can use to do absolutely whatever. If that’s the main selling point of becoming an Amazon employee, well, it doesn’t bode well now, does it?
Two other pros are that the Imgurian gets three days off because of how their shifts are scheduled and that they have lots of independence. 95 percent of the time they’re left alone, they shared. However, the cons… well, they really do outweigh the pros. By a longshot.
One of the major drawbacks is that the job in and of itself is mind-numbing and menial. There’s no higher purpose to it other than getting paid. Do the work, pay your bills, buy some groceries. Repeat. Furthermore, the Imgurian drew attention to the fact that they and other employees are always “being pushed to work faster” and even have to sacrifice going to the bathroom for the sake of quotas.
Quotas are everything at Amazon
Everything revolves around these quotas. No matter how unreasonable they are, employees will be “harassed and prodded” because of them. In short, what’s being demanded of people is to work ceaselessly, efficiently, tirelessly like robots. The Imgurian said that they were having “breakdowns every weekend” and even considered ending their life because of the inhumane conditions.
Meanwhile, Amazon employee Joseph Jones from Alabama, who can walk as much as 17 miles per shift, told the BBC that the company’s attitude toward their workers is horrendous. “It’s a very adversarial relationship with the supervisors and the staff. You’re a cog in the system… and it’s very obvious.”
Amazon is also notoriously anti-union because it sees them as a hindrance to profit-making. Unionized workers demand better work conditions which lead to extra costs for the company.
Here’s how Imgurians have been reacting to the story
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I worked there and I can confirm it's all true. Also if you do for example 110% of your target one day and next day only 102% you will be asked to explain why you are so slow. Terrible place with no respect for people. I don't even know how it can be legal in 21st century.
so how do you get the job of the people that tell you you're not working fast enough, and who check on them? Do they have to meet a quota of how many employees they terrorize a day?
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Modern day slavery. I will not buy anything from Amazon. I use small and local shops.
Good on you! I've rarely bought anything from Amazon, but with all the evil they take part in I'm gonna stop altogether. EBay is much better anyway
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Stop shopping at Amazon! You can't even get what you order any more -- so much of it is now scam products with fake reviews, and this is growing exponentially. Order direct from the manufacturers or retailers.
I work in a distribution center for another company, and the number of applicants we get from Amazon is astonishing, many were fired for not hitting their quota, they some work for us and they are great workers, just need reasonable expectations for human beings
According to many posters on here they should just thank Amazon for a job and never complain.
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I am rather amazed that anyone thinks you can simply quit and get a new job, or know ahead of time what a job will do to you, or or or..... I mean, I'm glad you don't know, it's great for you, but protecting all workers' rights is important even if you don't need them yourself (yet!)....
“They don’t allow music or headphones”????? Which Amazon fulfilment centre was that? I’m in the UK, so maybe rules are different in the US. I loved working for Amazon, especially during the Covid pandemic. However, one point I agree on is the bathroom breaks - it’s nothing to do with them rushing you, but due to the sheer size of the place you simply think twice before you go, just because it’s such a long trek. (And unfortunately it wouldn’t be practical/possible/hygienic for them to put toilets onto the warehouse floor, so depending on where you are, it can be a long, long walk to get to the nearest loos. But I really, really loved working for Amazon, cannot stress this enough.
Theres a vast difference between labour laws in the US and the UK, just saying
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I dunno. I've had some really bad jobs... and I quit. It wasn't easy to get a new job, and I was out of work for a bit, but my mental and physical health was taking a toll. Some of these folks should take a good look at the money vs. mental/health toll.
It's not a choice everyone can afford to make but yeah most people don't take into account their mental and physical well-being when taking up jobs. I mean no job is worth being sucidal over and you'll never find one better unless you take the risk of unemployment.
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Retired letter carrier here, remember people going postal? What I have just read are the reasons why. Same harassment day after day pushed people to the point of no return. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen at Amazon. I’m so glad it hasn’t but, I think, it’s only a matter of time.
The biggest question is why people put up with it in the first place and don’t just quit. *everyone* knows that working in an Amazon warehouse or as a driver is one of the worst jobs you can do... so why apply in the first place? I just don’t get people complaining about Amazon. It’s like deliberately putting your hand in a frying pan and moaning that it hurts....
I worked there last summer (can confirm that this article is very accurate) when covid hit, they were the only company that got back to me which is why I chose to work there. The turn over rate for employees is really high for a reason, but I agree with what you said about why anyone would want to if it weren't out of necessity. I met people who worked those jobs for 8 years and never bothered to climb the ladder and I couldnt fathom working there for longer than three months.
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If I was constantly harassed that I was being a bad job, I would be suicidal too.
Sounds like Amazon needs to automate all of their warehouse activity... probably should limit the intelligence of the AI or otherwise the robots will ultimately riot.
Also, the thing about the break room is simply not true (again, I’m talking UK here, so maybe it’s different in the US) as there are actual canteen style restaurants on the warehouse floor, so you don’t need to go far for that. Also, the food is highly subsidised and really good value. Only downside: because of the pandemic, they massively reduced the choice of foods (especially cooked foods) available, but that was due to Covid regulations, so we can hardly blame them for it. Food now is all pre-packed and cold (sandwiches, snack bars, etc) whereas before the pandemic it was properly cooked food served on a plate.
The UK has stricter labor laws than the US (for now). In the US, the labor laws also vary from one state to another, so what may n ot be okay in California is okay in, say, Nebraska, and the corporations know where to go to get the most for the least in that sense.
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My sister worked at an Amazon warehouse for a short time she had told me about the five minute walk to break rooms, I still think it's nuts. I don't understand why walking to a designated break area should count as part of a break 🤦
This is a pretty accurate description. I've worked in "pack" and "pick" and at Amazon Air hub. The Most frustrating part is Amazon would be an infinitely better experience if they made modest changes but they won't. Part of the way they get around this is by building distribution hubs in the poorest areas. This then gives them a large supply of cheap labor. The first red flag while working was when I was warned about my poor pack rate (or quota) despite my station not functioning. This response was met with a "...yeah but still". I won't even get into the stories i heard from people working during the beginning of Covid. Total s**t company to work for.
i have just stop ordering from them, and now buy straight from the retailor. also, i laughed way to hard at Imgurians...
I wonder what kind of management think to earn more squeezing the blood out of anyone willing to go away instead than paying one more and make everyone happy loosing less. The good shepard doesn't kill his sheeps. He keeps them healthy so they deliver good milk and wool. The description of the constant surveillance doesn't tell Amazon is a good shepard at all.
Quit bitching and get a different job, no one is forcing anyone to work anywhere.
Thise working conditions would NEVER be accepted in Denmark. Luckily we have Strong unions
I don't understand the very first part, the "pro" of having 30 minutes paid time each day. Any hourly worker in the US who works 8 hours gets two 15 minute breaks (paid) and one 30 minute break (unpaid). Did that change? Is this PTO they are talking about a perk or just describing normal working conditions in the US?
And the birdcages full of traitor's skeletons are just held on by one rope. Not OSHA compliant at all.
There's a book called The Warehouse that is basically this experience, but in in the future and the only cities are inside the warehouses. Worth reading if you're interested in a worst case scenario.
Thing is ... the labour market is a highly unbalanced one. There is, put simple, too much people for too less work. So, you only need someone who has the pressure on his back not to flip-off unfair job offers, but takes whatever he gets, and all the talk about how communist or socialst every change would be, and how bad that would be, as if either of them would have been already tried out somewhere (which wasn't - they only tried using the names...) and been proven wrong. But, it doesn't really matter ... private companies are totally to be fine with, while state-run companies may f**k it up seriously ... and the other way round. It truly boils down to having more work offered than work demanded, in total, allowing companies to take advantage of those who cannot call their true value for their price. A lot of us have been there, and not too many could, in the end, evade this. It's not the money and treatment alone - knowing you work under your value, below your skills, makes you sick.
The sad thing is a lot of consumers don't realize this is going on behind the scenes. They look at the 2 day shipping and the convenience, and wonder why other companies can't match that speed. I work for a small company and I am asked on the daily why it takes us 24 hours to process an order and "can't I expedite shipping?"- a pretty good stat when your company is under 30 people and sells over $20 million in goods a year!
This is how it is, in the "Greatest Country In The World". Honestly, As long as people do not actually burn down the congress with all the politicians in it, who are responsible for unregulated Capitalism, which in everyone's book is just a code word for "Slavery", this will be going on. What did you people expect, when the country is run by third rate hookers, I know them as politicians, who are selling themselves to the highest corporate bidder and all of them are egomaniacal, psychopathic Sadists.
It is that kind of management that keeps Amazon competitive. It is how they afford the "Great and Spacious Building", and can become the "Whore of all the Earth".
I know Amazon sells Depends. I'd skip the walk and use their Depends. F**K AMAZON.
All we need to do is stop using this company. Seriously we have the power.
This is the reason one goes to college. To avoid having to work in saltmines like this.
Complain you have a job, complain the job is too hard, complain if you don’t have a job, if you woulda worked harder in school you wouldn’t be doing that job, it’s easy to quit if it’s too hard for you, but you need to pay bills so you can’t, welcome to life, when you deploy for 15 months to Iraq making so little you qualify for food stamps and get 2 weeks off and work 24/7 for the other 60 weeks I’ll feel some pity for you, your not even being shot at, your not wearing 60+ pounds of gear and you get to see your family everyday..... so hard, you poor things, wonder if the army can unionize, oh that’s right we can’t even quit and get a new job if we don’t like it, wanna trade jobs, no take backs, p.s. I love my job and don’t want anything else my point was working at Amazon is not slavery or hard, you’re just spoiled and soft, truth hurts down vote if you want but that just means you think one persons hard job deserves more benefits than another’s hard job, it’s ludicrous
If you were alive during the early 1900's you would have complained about child labors laws being enacted, the new 5 day work week would have made you incensed and you would have been a huge Pinkerton fan. You should look up the word empathy and try it sometime.
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Guess you should have worked harder in school, huh? You joined the army because you couldn't qualify for anything better, knowing full well what the army entailed. P.S- to anyone who doesn't know, you are able to leave the U.S military after your service contract is up. Complaining about your job after telling someone not to complain about their job is absolutely ridiculous.
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I worked there and I can confirm it's all true. Also if you do for example 110% of your target one day and next day only 102% you will be asked to explain why you are so slow. Terrible place with no respect for people. I don't even know how it can be legal in 21st century.
so how do you get the job of the people that tell you you're not working fast enough, and who check on them? Do they have to meet a quota of how many employees they terrorize a day?
Load More Replies... Modern day slavery. I will not buy anything from Amazon. I use small and local shops.
Good on you! I've rarely bought anything from Amazon, but with all the evil they take part in I'm gonna stop altogether. EBay is much better anyway
Load More Replies... Stop shopping at Amazon! You can't even get what you order any more -- so much of it is now scam products with fake reviews, and this is growing exponentially. Order direct from the manufacturers or retailers.
I work in a distribution center for another company, and the number of applicants we get from Amazon is astonishing, many were fired for not hitting their quota, they some work for us and they are great workers, just need reasonable expectations for human beings
According to many posters on here they should just thank Amazon for a job and never complain.
Load More Replies... I am rather amazed that anyone thinks you can simply quit and get a new job, or know ahead of time what a job will do to you, or or or..... I mean, I'm glad you don't know, it's great for you, but protecting all workers' rights is important even if you don't need them yourself (yet!)....
“They don’t allow music or headphones”????? Which Amazon fulfilment centre was that? I’m in the UK, so maybe rules are different in the US. I loved working for Amazon, especially during the Covid pandemic. However, one point I agree on is the bathroom breaks - it’s nothing to do with them rushing you, but due to the sheer size of the place you simply think twice before you go, just because it’s such a long trek. (And unfortunately it wouldn’t be practical/possible/hygienic for them to put toilets onto the warehouse floor, so depending on where you are, it can be a long, long walk to get to the nearest loos. But I really, really loved working for Amazon, cannot stress this enough.
Theres a vast difference between labour laws in the US and the UK, just saying
Load More Replies... I dunno. I've had some really bad jobs... and I quit. It wasn't easy to get a new job, and I was out of work for a bit, but my mental and physical health was taking a toll. Some of these folks should take a good look at the money vs. mental/health toll.
It's not a choice everyone can afford to make but yeah most people don't take into account their mental and physical well-being when taking up jobs. I mean no job is worth being sucidal over and you'll never find one better unless you take the risk of unemployment.
Load More Replies... Retired letter carrier here, remember people going postal? What I have just read are the reasons why. Same harassment day after day pushed people to the point of no return. I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen at Amazon. I’m so glad it hasn’t but, I think, it’s only a matter of time.
The biggest question is why people put up with it in the first place and don’t just quit. *everyone* knows that working in an Amazon warehouse or as a driver is one of the worst jobs you can do... so why apply in the first place? I just don’t get people complaining about Amazon. It’s like deliberately putting your hand in a frying pan and moaning that it hurts....
I worked there last summer (can confirm that this article is very accurate) when covid hit, they were the only company that got back to me which is why I chose to work there. The turn over rate for employees is really high for a reason, but I agree with what you said about why anyone would want to if it weren't out of necessity. I met people who worked those jobs for 8 years and never bothered to climb the ladder and I couldnt fathom working there for longer than three months.
Load More Replies... If I was constantly harassed that I was being a bad job, I would be suicidal too.
Sounds like Amazon needs to automate all of their warehouse activity... probably should limit the intelligence of the AI or otherwise the robots will ultimately riot.
Also, the thing about the break room is simply not true (again, I’m talking UK here, so maybe it’s different in the US) as there are actual canteen style restaurants on the warehouse floor, so you don’t need to go far for that. Also, the food is highly subsidised and really good value. Only downside: because of the pandemic, they massively reduced the choice of foods (especially cooked foods) available, but that was due to Covid regulations, so we can hardly blame them for it. Food now is all pre-packed and cold (sandwiches, snack bars, etc) whereas before the pandemic it was properly cooked food served on a plate.
The UK has stricter labor laws than the US (for now). In the US, the labor laws also vary from one state to another, so what may n ot be okay in California is okay in, say, Nebraska, and the corporations know where to go to get the most for the least in that sense.
Load More Replies... My sister worked at an Amazon warehouse for a short time she had told me about the five minute walk to break rooms, I still think it's nuts. I don't understand why walking to a designated break area should count as part of a break 🤦
This is a pretty accurate description. I've worked in "pack" and "pick" and at Amazon Air hub. The Most frustrating part is Amazon would be an infinitely better experience if they made modest changes but they won't. Part of the way they get around this is by building distribution hubs in the poorest areas. This then gives them a large supply of cheap labor. The first red flag while working was when I was warned about my poor pack rate (or quota) despite my station not functioning. This response was met with a "...yeah but still". I won't even get into the stories i heard from people working during the beginning of Covid. Total s**t company to work for.
i have just stop ordering from them, and now buy straight from the retailor. also, i laughed way to hard at Imgurians...
I wonder what kind of management think to earn more squeezing the blood out of anyone willing to go away instead than paying one more and make everyone happy loosing less. The good shepard doesn't kill his sheeps. He keeps them healthy so they deliver good milk and wool. The description of the constant surveillance doesn't tell Amazon is a good shepard at all.
Quit bitching and get a different job, no one is forcing anyone to work anywhere.
Thise working conditions would NEVER be accepted in Denmark. Luckily we have Strong unions
I don't understand the very first part, the "pro" of having 30 minutes paid time each day. Any hourly worker in the US who works 8 hours gets two 15 minute breaks (paid) and one 30 minute break (unpaid). Did that change? Is this PTO they are talking about a perk or just describing normal working conditions in the US?
And the birdcages full of traitor's skeletons are just held on by one rope. Not OSHA compliant at all.
There's a book called The Warehouse that is basically this experience, but in in the future and the only cities are inside the warehouses. Worth reading if you're interested in a worst case scenario.
Thing is ... the labour market is a highly unbalanced one. There is, put simple, too much people for too less work. So, you only need someone who has the pressure on his back not to flip-off unfair job offers, but takes whatever he gets, and all the talk about how communist or socialst every change would be, and how bad that would be, as if either of them would have been already tried out somewhere (which wasn't - they only tried using the names...) and been proven wrong. But, it doesn't really matter ... private companies are totally to be fine with, while state-run companies may f**k it up seriously ... and the other way round. It truly boils down to having more work offered than work demanded, in total, allowing companies to take advantage of those who cannot call their true value for their price. A lot of us have been there, and not too many could, in the end, evade this. It's not the money and treatment alone - knowing you work under your value, below your skills, makes you sick.
The sad thing is a lot of consumers don't realize this is going on behind the scenes. They look at the 2 day shipping and the convenience, and wonder why other companies can't match that speed. I work for a small company and I am asked on the daily why it takes us 24 hours to process an order and "can't I expedite shipping?"- a pretty good stat when your company is under 30 people and sells over $20 million in goods a year!
This is how it is, in the "Greatest Country In The World". Honestly, As long as people do not actually burn down the congress with all the politicians in it, who are responsible for unregulated Capitalism, which in everyone's book is just a code word for "Slavery", this will be going on. What did you people expect, when the country is run by third rate hookers, I know them as politicians, who are selling themselves to the highest corporate bidder and all of them are egomaniacal, psychopathic Sadists.
It is that kind of management that keeps Amazon competitive. It is how they afford the "Great and Spacious Building", and can become the "Whore of all the Earth".
I know Amazon sells Depends. I'd skip the walk and use their Depends. F**K AMAZON.
All we need to do is stop using this company. Seriously we have the power.
This is the reason one goes to college. To avoid having to work in saltmines like this.
Complain you have a job, complain the job is too hard, complain if you don’t have a job, if you woulda worked harder in school you wouldn’t be doing that job, it’s easy to quit if it’s too hard for you, but you need to pay bills so you can’t, welcome to life, when you deploy for 15 months to Iraq making so little you qualify for food stamps and get 2 weeks off and work 24/7 for the other 60 weeks I’ll feel some pity for you, your not even being shot at, your not wearing 60+ pounds of gear and you get to see your family everyday..... so hard, you poor things, wonder if the army can unionize, oh that’s right we can’t even quit and get a new job if we don’t like it, wanna trade jobs, no take backs, p.s. I love my job and don’t want anything else my point was working at Amazon is not slavery or hard, you’re just spoiled and soft, truth hurts down vote if you want but that just means you think one persons hard job deserves more benefits than another’s hard job, it’s ludicrous
If you were alive during the early 1900's you would have complained about child labors laws being enacted, the new 5 day work week would have made you incensed and you would have been a huge Pinkerton fan. You should look up the word empathy and try it sometime.
Load More Replies... Guess you should have worked harder in school, huh? You joined the army because you couldn't qualify for anything better, knowing full well what the army entailed. P.S- to anyone who doesn't know, you are able to leave the U.S military after your service contract is up. Complaining about your job after telling someone not to complain about their job is absolutely ridiculous.
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