Amazon conducting an experiment in how far it can push workers to get them to combust

[Triana]

“I would see people practically combust.”

. . .

WHEN ‘ALL’ ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH

Molly Jay, an early member of the Kindle team, said she received high ratings for years. But when she began traveling to care for her father, who was suffering from cancer, and cut back working on nights and weekends, her status changed. She was blocked from transferring to a less pressure-filled job, she said, and her boss told her she was “a problem.” As her father was dying, she took unpaid leave to care for him and never returned to Amazon.

“When you’re not able to give your absolute all, 80 hours a week, they see it as a major weakness,” she said.

A woman who had thyroid cancer was given a low performance rating after she returned from treatment. She says her manager explained that while she was out, her peers were accomplishing a great deal. Another employee who miscarried twins left for a business trip the day after she had surgery. “I’m sorry, the work is still going to need to get done,” she said her boss told her. “From where you are in life, trying to start a family, I don’t know if this is the right place for you.”

THE REST of this hellish tale which is leading to what they now call the "gig" economy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html

[MADem]

1. Sounds a lot like ....

the military.

The brutal "peer v. peer" attitude is a hallmark of that institution, particularly when working in an HQ environment (teamwork is more prized closer to the front):

At Amazon, workers are encouraged to tear apart one another’s ideas in meetings, toil long and late (emails arrive past midnight, followed by text messages asking why they were not answered), and held to standards that the company boasts are “unreasonably high.” The internal phone directory instructs colleagues on how to send secret feedback to one another’s bosses. Employees say it is frequently used to sabotage others. (The tool offers sample texts, including this: “I felt concerned about his inflexibility and openly complaining about minor tasks.”)

No, not joking, either. Up or out!

[drmeow]

2. I stopped shopping at Amazon

completely a few years ago because of their (non-white-collar) labor policies and because of Jeff Bezos' attitude about paying taxes. I like to use Jeff Bezos specifically as an example when I talk to people about why the rich should pay higher taxes. Amazon would not exist AT ALL and Jeff Bezos would not be rich AT ALL if it was not for government funding (DARPA "invented" the internet). I argue that the government is like an initial investor - like any investor who makes a substantial contribution to the development of the business, the government is like a majority stock holder and taxes are the dividends the company OWES the government (now and in perpetuity just like a stock holder).

[whathehell]

3. Inroducing Amazon -- The 21st Century Sweatshop.

Grreat article. Thanks for posting!

[colsohlibgal]

4. I Stopped Shopping There As Well

I read a story about a huge warehouse they have in Arizona. it concerned a day when the temperature was 110 or so. Amazon has no air conditioner in there and refused to open the doors because they are worried about theft.

People started dropping so fast from heat exhaustion that ambulances sat in wait outside the facility, and they filled up quickly.

Also - workers are monitored every second, and get docked for "time theft" if they even shrug for one second or dare talk to a co- worker at all.

It's sick, and all so Bezos can keep getting wealthier.

So no more for me, it's EBay or direct from wherever.

If there is a Hell I hope they give Bezos forever in a sweltering warehouse.

[silverweb]

10. I've switched to eBay and company direct shipping, too.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Ironically, I did order one item from eBay that showed up "fulfilled by Amazon." Either I missed something on the page when I ordered, or it wasn't stated that it would ship from Amazon. I almost choked.

[TxGrandpa]

19. Same here....no indication it was from Amazon..

Seems that someone was buying from Amazon, probably at a discount and had a Prime account for free shipping.

[silverweb]

34. I hadn't thought of that possibility.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Just figured it was my error for not noticing or perhaps even a subterfuge on Amazon's part.

[BlueJazz]

5. I've passed up items on Amazombie that were slightly more expensive elseware.

Reminds me of a CEO my father knew that said: >

"Employees are like toilet paper, tear off a piece, when you're done, toss it"

I still remember that shit (excuse the pun) after all these years.

[PatrickforO]

6. Just one word....

UNIONIZE

And before you reply to this saying well unions suck, the reason jobs at Amazon suck is no union representation.

[SusanaMontana41]

21. Yes. Yes. Yes. n/t

[Rex]

7. I might have to compete one day in that 'gig' economy.

Thank my lucky stars, that day is not here yet. Most of us live paycheck to paycheck with just enough money saved up to pay for an emergency.

Big Box companies must be horrible to work for. 80 hr weeks? WTF?

[lame54]

8. Check with Goldman Sachs - they have some data on this

[Newest Reality]

9. Smacks of a

cult with a very harsh and tyrannical guru.

That kind of stress and type-A drive is not healthy for the culture or families, IMHO and the price will be paid outside of Amazon. Sure, there are a few who live for that kind of dedication, immersion in work and a relentless dynamic, but is it a very large percentage of their workforce?

Concerning the natural state of our organism, a long-term stint in that kind of environment, for many, may spell some serious burnout in the long-run. As we feel the jarring lurch of a shift from the Robber Barron to the Techno Tyrant, this kind of obsessive compulsive and manipulative workplace betrays the idea of technology taking the brunt of effort out of peoples lives as a facilitator. Instead, it seems that the monitoring, tracking not only allows for stricter control of behavior and mindset, but it also suggests a potential, hive-like collective driven by the Queen Bee Bezos. It is as if Amazon is simply tooling up its infrastructure for the inevitable phasing out of large segments of the human element in order to prepare for more and more automation as replacements.

Well, for some, the workplace and construct revealed by the article may sound more like a depiction of Dante's Inferno, but maybe that's too an extreme example. However, best wishes to those who choose to run the Borg gauntlet for the sake of Amazonian Darwinism and the profits that ensue. We can only hope it is worth it to them, (if they can hold out long enough) as we contemplate the current results of such an anal and mechanistic approach to reality and work and realize that endless growth and productivity are a bullet train heading towards a wall of environmental impacts and a sixth, mass extinction. Maybe we can get basic survival items quickly by drone as civilization crumbles under that paradigm?

Hare Krishna. Hare Bezos. Bezos, Bezos, Hare, Hare.

[MisterP]

14. from Foxconn to Uber to WalMart's religified export capitalism to Apple "evangelism marketing"

plus Bay Area techies have a bad reputation for pretending everything's just a program and starting techno-cults

[malaise]

11. We don't purchase anything from Amazon

It's exploitation on steroids

[MisterP]

12. "gig" economy is right

[Fairgo]

13. Get used to it...

This is the model for the global economy.

[Dont call me Shirley]

16. NO! We should not have to get used to it!!!!! Unionize now!!!'!

[Fairgo]

20. That is the exact, succinct, and only response

...stand together or stand in chains.
- Labour union and party. Love to see it in the platform.

[Dont call me Shirley]

23. Bernie supports it!

[Lizzie Poppet]

29. Fuck that. I'll work to tear it all down first.

"When you ain't got nothin', you got nothin to lose."

[Fairgo]

30. Good on ya!

It takes a village to raise a child, it takes a union to raze the Bastille!

[Dont call me Shirley]

15. I have never ordered anything from Amazon and probably never will. Their worker ethics are

atrocious! Worse than Walmart.

[SusanaMontana41]

22. I used to have a Prime account.

NO longer.

No way.

[christx30]

17. There's no 'my kid has cancer' in team. n/t

[winterwar]

18. I refuse to shop Amazon

I've heard too many stories like this. I hope people start to pay attention. I'll pay more somewhere else.

[secondvariety]

24. Considering the way

the warehouse employees are treated, I'm not surprised the office folks are treated the same. Eventually, someone will snap and report to work carrying more than a laptop and a bag lunch in their backpack.

[davidn3600]

25. This is the way the global economy is going

The Democratic party isn't helping. They care more about passing free trade agreements and expanding visa programs that helps make it easier for corporations to exploit labor than favor policies that strengthen unions.

[stage left]

26. If Corporations are people

then they must be Sociopaths. I just bought something from Amazon. I'm not going to do that anymore.

[Brickbat]

27. White-collar workers, you say?

Oh, maybe NOW people will give a shit.

[Starry Messenger]

28. Right?

I thought this was about their atrocious warehouse practices. Looks like those practices are moving up the ladder.

[Brickbat]

31. Same, so I didn't read it at first! The "creatives" always think it can't happen to them...

[herding cats]

38. deleted

Wrong spot. I'm sorry!

[sub.theory]

32. Sounds absolutely nightmarish

Hope this expose ignites some very needed changes at Amazon.

[awoke_in_2003]

33. We are slowly returning

to the days that caused books like The Jungle to be written

[smirkymonkey]

35. Holy crap!

I actually thought this was going to be an Onion article. I can't believe this is true. It's an absolute nightmare. What can we do besides stop shopping there? This can't go on.

[Oneironaut]

36. Total horseshit.

What is Amazon doing these days that's actually innovative? Trying to copy other companies?

Cultures like these are actually full of kiss asses and sociopath assholes who love the misery of others. It's also full of twenty-something hotshot tools who think that they're going to be the next great thing, only to get shit on and blown out of the water by someone else who has the same mindset. Sure - stealing other peoples' ideas, making it so that everyone is afraid to challenge their "God" managers, and pitting everyone against each other is sure to lead to innovation. Sounds great...

You'll find that real innovators are lacking in a place like this. What you get instead are "politicians" and people who can't stop talking about how creative and awesome they are rather than doing anything meaningful.

[IDemo]

37. Well, talk about clueless

I had a telephone interview for a tech position in their Seattle R&D department earlier this year. When my interviewer asked "what makes you want to work at Amazon?", for some reason I had the impression that the company culture was more or less in line with other big companies like HP or Apple. When I included "company culture" in my answer, I could hear a brief snort from the other end.

I didn't get an offer, and it looks like that's the best possible outcome.

[herding cats]

39. This isn't exactly breaking news, nor is it isolated to Amazon

I have stories, so very many stories to tell of similar experiences. I have no idea why we keep putting up with this, but it's been at least a decade of such practices in many, if not most, corporations.

There is no empathy for personal illnesses if your sick/personal days are used up. "We're sorry you're in this situation but our businesses needs take a priority." Family problems, the same applies. If you're vital to the core of the company and you use sick/personal days at a bad time for the business, no matter the reason, you will face the consequences at review time. "It's not personal, it's just business." is the standard mantra.

I wonder who everyone else has worked for that things like this shock them? Maybe my life has just really sucked?

[Triana]

41. Sadly, I know you're right. My bro and nephew also both work at such companies

They suck the blood out of these people right down to the bone. Not new, and definitely not isolated to Amazon. One of them works at Wal-Mart....the other for a big utility company. They don't give a shit about their employees. You better work till you're dead and sacrifice literally everything else in your life to do it or get the fuck out. And benefits? NOPE. Little to none.

[Liberal_in_LA]

40. ugh.