Amazon case analysis

The issues brought forth to us from our research were quite interesting so we decided to go further into depth and analyse the truth of working for Amazon on a first hand account. Luckily for me I have multiple reliable sources who work within the company of Amazon and were willing to share some information as long as I would keep their identities unknown. So in this section, mentioned Sources will be labeled subject 1, and subject 2 both being from different departments of Amazon and having very different experiences. This information may vary regionally and is very dependent on situations and position within Amazon.

Subject 1 works in a Delivery station/ training center, this being a smaller building and department compared to the much larger Amazon fulfilment center in which there are 110 currently active fulfilment centers in the U.S and 185 globally. Contrary to popular belief and research, Subject one has a fairly pleasant work environment. They have a very personable relationship with all of their management team and upper level co workers as the building is small which makes for easy acquaintance to others After 2 years of employment they have received a raise that now puts them nicely above minimum wage, a fair workload and is expected no more than what is in their job description. The benefits are proper as they receive medical, dental, and vision benefits along with a 401k which is very desirable to have in a job. At this station subject one receives all allotted breaks and is only scheduled for hours provided by them. Due to all of these positive impacts, subject 1 feels secure about their job with little fear of replacement or being disposed of.

This does not mean Subject 1 has had all good experiences. Like many other companies, Covid has made some work places less desirable and puts the employees under more tension. Subject 1 informed me that even though there are strict Covid regulations in place, there have still been positive cases within his department. As of May 4th, According to Los Angeles Times journalist Suhauna Hussain wrote “The California agency that oversees workplace safety fined Amazon.com Inc. $41,000 for failing to record COVID-19 infections among employees at a Rialto facility and to generally protect workers there against potential exposure to the virus” This article is proof of negligence from an Amazon Fulfillment center that is in the same region as subject 1 which is not necessarily a good sign for them. As fears have died down and the vaccine continues to advance, the tension within their department has decreased but it was still a very uncomfortable situation.

Subject 2 has a very different experience as he unfortunately does work in 1 of the 110 U.S Amazon fulfillment centers. Their job description is in the packing department, but on the daily they are asked to leave their department and work on a forklift as a picker, which is not in their job description, along with the fact that they are not certified to operate a forklift. During this time they are eventually expected to return to their department, and sometimes their break is ignored, and after a 10 hour shift they are only allowed one half hour lunch which according to california labor law is a half hour less than required. When subject 2 inquired about said 2nd lunch break, Subject 2 was informed they must work extra in to be awarded that break, which is illegal and immoral. During holidays and other busy months, Amazon has peak hours, which is an 11 and a half hour shift in which they do receive their breaks, but subject 2 has very little say on their schedule as these come on a by workload basis. Sometimes MET or Mandatory Extra Time days are required of them once a pay period to work overtime in which they are given very little notice of schedule change which is frustrating to someone who is already feeling overworked. This could be fixed with better management communication, but subject 2 feels uncomfortable talking to his managers as they feel as if their job is always on the line and one mistake or wrong thing said could lead to termination. Co-worker relations are similar as they could lead to someone advising the management and again, the termination of subject 2. Subject 2 receives all the same benefits as Subject 1, just at a higher cost as the Job description is much more demanding, and even though they are sure they will get their 40 hours a week, they feel their job is always at risk unlife subject 1.

When it comes to Covid restrictions, These facilities mentioned above are much different. Subject 2 has a covid testing center within walking distance of his work station and is clearly visible from his work area, and guidelines are loosely followed by management and employees which is dangerous and further proves the article from earlier. To be expected to work in such conditions is very unreasonable and I believe there needs to be change.

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