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
