3 Things to know before working at amazon

These are important rules

[dnelson]

As a person who has worked at amazon that worked hard and also quietly quit during a lunch break. I can confirm that this man is preaching the truth. I lost 20 pounds while working there and going to college at the same time. I only worked there for about a month. 20 pounds in one month is I repeat NOT HEALTHY.

[loganchase-buter]

Thank god he’s using his platform to call out these corporations. Respect Jordan

[An]

One of the best somewhat recent examples of amazon not caring about their workers is probably when the Mayfield tornado hit their warehouse, all the higher ups were allowed to leave but when the workers tried to leave they were not allowed to, they were forced to continue working while under a tornado emergency (Confirmed large and dangerous tornado).

[Psych_Major_Blonde]

As a former Amazon employee (at two different warehouses), I can confirm that TOT (time off task) or alternatively, “time theft”, is their biggest oppressive professional practice.

[Zee_II]

I worked at Amazon for 5-6 years and regretfully have nothing to show for but wear and tear on my body and near ptsd like symptoms when going into large public areas.

[BlackRageInfinity]

I worked 3rd shift at Amazon from 2019-2020 in their fulfillment center, so I just sorted packages all night and this was before the Time Off Task mess that most people know and resent. Even so, when you were sorting packages in your 2-5 aisles (yes, there were days I had to do 5 aisles by myself), the packages would just keep coming and pile up regardless of whether or not you were in those aisles or not.

So, while they didn't actively punish us for going to the bathroom while the line was running back then, the extent to which you'd fall behind if you went to the bathroom for even 5-10 minutes was agonizing. I learned real quick to always hold it until they called break (which happened when they felt like it and not at any consistent time in the shift) or the mess I'd walk back to after relieving myself would be about as painful as blowing off my entire leg with an RPG.

Even quitting was an aggravating process cause I tried more than once to put in my two weeks notice and had to legitimately show up during the daytime to personally confirm the date of my last day with the HR people, who still nearly fumbled the bag right in front of me.

As I've often said, one of the truest signs of an awful job isn't just a revolving door of employees, but a revolving door of MANAGERS, and in the 18 months I spent working there, at least 8 people went in and out of the managing position at the fulfillment center. Burn that entire franchise to the ground.

[jonahrosales]

Amazon was the worst place I’ve ever worked. Don’t ever do it. I hated myself. I hated that building. I hated cardboard boxes.

[xXSlMdcXx]

I have been working in an amazon warehouse for around 16 months. It took 12 months for our managers to finally introduce hard hats because no one knew it was an OSHA violation to work inside the trailers without one. There is an incredible amount of things I can say about this company but that alone should tell you to never work for any of their warehouses. They have no respect for any of their workers, and managers are either pressured or get a power trip to adopt the same disgusting treatment of their underlings.

[williamjones]

I worked for them when they opened a new distribution center in my town about 4 years ago. I was the only guy on the sorting line with everyone else being women ( and this is NOT a dig at women because they did work their collective asses off) and it felt like I ended up getting about 95% of all the heavy things so my scan count was always lower than most everyone else because I'm lugging 50 to damn near 100 lbs at a time. Then I got the flu right after Christmas and almost passed out on the sorting belt and missed a few days ( under doctors order) and I was terminated via email, and the email gave a a termination date of a week prior and I had been working that whole week so go figure that out. I would rather preform open heart surgery on myself with a dull spork while doing a split on a cactus made of broken glass than EVER work for Amazon again.

[Teenangst]

I'm currently a driver, and perhaps ive had the worst jobs previously, but so far this is my favorite I've ever had. My managers are very supportive and understanding, my coworkers are friendly and helpful, there's minimal customer interaction which means minimal verbal and emotional abuse. It's fantastic! Beats working at a gas station in my experience.

[jennifermoody]

I was once a fan of Amazon and used it for almost everything I ordered online, as well as had Amazon prime, but when I discovered what was happening to the people working there, I was so outraged and horrified that I immediately stopped any and all business with them completely.. I absolutely REFUSE to give any company my money if they have no care for their employees well being.. I did the same with Walmart after learning about how messed up things are there as well.. Yeah I might have to spend more money elsewhere or go outta my way to get some of the things I need, but I'd rather do that than do business with companies that commit crimes against humanity, which is what they both basically do.. STAY BLESSED

[ColonelRogers]

As a current Amazon warehouse employee, listen to this man. It's actually just a slow torture. You have to turn your brain off or suffer from 10 hours of constant boredom while your body gets more and more sore over the course of the work week. On your weekends, you're basically waiting for your back and feet to stop being sore. When they start feeling normal, that's when you know it's time to start the new work week. Also, you're working the night shift, so you're always sleepy and probably have a vitaman D deficiency.

[ddev]

It is so illegal to not allow bathroom breaks

[whitewave]

This Hank Green-esque, AdHd-like, style allows an uncut monologue to be digested by the shortest of attention spans without ANY real editing. It's a true skill and why Jordan and others with this storytelling skill deserve their success. Loving it.

[Miss_Patron]

I've been a nurse at Amazon for 3 years in the warehouse! We call it the slave ship! No gratitude or appreciation even when I work 10 days out of 11 days. NO RAISE in those 3 years! They DEF give you a signing bonus, but it's to hold you hostage! Lets say they give you $10k signing bonus, it will be paid on your first paycheck. You'll receive about 4-5k after tax. So if you quit within the first year, you must PAY IT BACK!!! All of it! Even the tax that you didn't receive. You received 4-5k but have to pay back the 10k! And Jeffy is busy giving away his billions! The turnaround is NUTS!! The discount is trash. Lots of free shirts though!

[DetoxMyLifeWithTNichol]

I worked at Amazon, and everything that Jordan has stated is true. I quit during a 15 minute break. I didn’t plan on quitting, but I felt overworked, drained, and I couldn’t take another day. It is probably the most depressing job I have ever had, and I’ve worked in a job field where I was a verbal and physical punching bag for my clients, and even management.

[BLUE-HU]

I once worked at a 'health-based' smoothie place when I first moved out of my family's house at the age of 18. I was moving to the big city compared to where I originally grew up (and still live in said big city) and didn't know where a good place to work would be. I was looking for a job that would hire right away as I needed a job lined up close to where I was gonna live, so already my standards weren't too great.

The biggest red flag that I ignored when getting the interview was that the first 'attempt' was going to be via video conference. Now, I was expecting my employer to host the interview from their work establishment, I couldn't be more wrong. My 'boss' tried to interview me initially at her home while she was eating and wearing what I could only assume was a bathrobe. But because the audio for the video call wasn't working, we scheduled it for the next day in person. So I drive down to the place and think that I'm going to get my interview held in an office of some sort, but no- it was held in the walk-in cooler where all the produce and such was being held. There was a desk in there with a single seat, so I guess it was an 'office' in a way. So here I am, freezing my butt off in a cooler with my soon-to-be boss sitting standing up while they're sitting as we didn't have another chair lying around. The interview- and I wish I was joking- only lasted 5 minutes. I kid you not, I had set up a resume, with references, contacts, and a list of credentials, and they never even bothered to read it.

Red flag number two:
My 'boss' left midway through said 'interview' to help up front because we didn't have enough workers. And the number of workers that were scheduled that day totaled 3 people. Sure, we were a smaller business, but no one, and I mean no one, had any idea how to manage an entire building by ourselves, as we were already overworked fresh outta high school adults. So seeing as this place was hanging on by the skin of its teeth, I should've declined. My boss then told me I got the job without really asking me anything, we never even discussed pay or when I should really start via time. They informed me to show up anywhere from 8:00am to 10:00am the next day and then gestured me to a pile of clothes on the floor underneath the desk in the cooler. It was my work uniform, well- anyone's work uniform to be exact. They just had a pile of randomly sized shirts to pick from and told me that I didn't have to wash them. (I most certainly did that day.)

Red flag number three:
When the next day arrived, I showed up about 30 minutes earlier than expected as I was pretty nervous about starting a new job. So while I was waiting outside, I got a text telling me not to show up until 12:00 because there were some issues going on that they didn't want me to see. And to this day, I still don't know what those said issues were.
I show up, expecting a walk-through or a crash-course of some sort, but was inseatd immediately thrown up front to start taking orders for the line of customers already forming. Thankfully though, the ordering screen was simple enough to get a basic understanding of how it worked, but still.

Red flag number four:
I was already working there for about a week when I realized- wait, we never discussed salary or payment of any kind, so when I went up to my boss to ask them about it, they told me everyone gets paid every Friday. (I already worked for them for about 9 days, ) and when confronting them about this issue, they told me that their computers had lost my banking info, which therefore didn't allow direct deposit. So I give them my info in writing this time, expecting to get paid now for my days already put in... BUT ANOTHER 2 WEEKS GO BY and I still haven't received any form of payment. I've already called them and talking to my boss in person several times at this point, and they keep feeding me bullsh*t reasons on why I haven't been paid yet. So I told them I was going to quit if they didn't pay me by Friday. Friday rolls around, and they do eventually pay me, for about a few days worth of pay. This is another issue that I stupidly didn't realize, I never solidified my answer about how much I was getting paid. For the sheer amount of work I was putting in and for how much I was working since day one, I assumed at least $16.00-$17.00. No no no, I was getting paid $11.00, mind you- I applied and landed myself an assistant manager position. At this point, I'm so fed up of this garbage I told them I was going to put in my two weeks. I shouldn't have given them that notice because for the next two weeks my boss bombarded me with pleads to stay and work for them, how they'll give me a raise of only $1.50, and how much of a valued worker I was. Finally, when I my two weeks were nearing to an end, and I already got myself a much better job that I am much happier with, I received a call from my boss telling me that I had to come in at that very moment (it was my day off) and cover for a double shift as someone had apparently walked out. (Honestly, I don't blame them.)

I never even bothered finishing my two weeks after that.

(Also- I never received the correct amount of money I earned from the first 3 weeks of working there. I'm still very bitter about it.)

[dazzlingdexter]

I worked at Amazon too. This man's speaking facts. I remember trying figure out how to change to liquid diet since peeing is a quicker bathroom break and taking a toilet break is absolutely forbidden. I was a stower for three months during season

[michaelsanders]

The worst part about Amazon is the fact; That no one cares. I’m currently a worker and have been for two years. Everyone is overworked and the mangers seem to be indifferent. On top of that, you have higher ups coming up with these ideas that are good on paper . But shit in the actual application. So that just makes life harder on the associate.

[MRpickleYandR]

As a current driver for amazon can confirm, we cant use the restroom either. We can but we’ll get in trouble for our stops per hour decreasing. Heck, even our mandatory lunch and two breaks are not factored into the route planning meaning even taking your mandatory lunch inherently puts you behind in their system. That means you always have to be at least half an hour ahead of schedule everyday just to stay on track.