It all fell apart

I worked for just over 2.5 years in an Amazon Fulfillment Center. I was first assigned to a smaller business group for about 18 months. Up until that point, I thought Amazon was awesome. The people and work schedule were great along with the opportunity for growth and development. 

Then it all fell apart. My final 9 months were pure hell. I was moved to a new role reporting to a different manager. I received absolutely no beneficial support from this manager but there were a lot of negative actions from him. There was no job training even though I was put in a new role. The expectations in the new role were that I was an expert from day 1. After 6 months, my role then changed 3 times in the last 3 months and each time there was no job training. 

Our senior management clearly played favorites with their closest friends group and it isn't uncommon for a small group like that to be promoted over and over again leaving all others behind, even though those people didn't perform any better than anyone else. There was a really high turnover in my building and it was obvious why. The work hours expectations just become too much when you're pushed to work 16 hours days over and over again, almost seeming to be an intentional attempt to burn you out so that you can be PIPed = fired. During holiday peak, you'll become a stranger to your family. Even your dog will think you're an intruder when you go home! Being cussed out and constantly yelled at in front of your peers/subordinates became part of the norm for our daily experience. You should expect no support from HR because their policy is to hand all investigation responsibility back to you with the expectation that you will do their job for them, otherwise just shut up and go back to work. You will feel completely demotivated and just worn down after a short time in this way.

The sad part is that I think Jeff Bezos really believes that the managers and teams are all happy little worker bees. Amazon recruiters do an excellent job selling everything to prospective hires. Everything through the new hire orientation is a free flowing fountain of awesomeness until you find yourself at your first day of work and facing  the ugly reality.