Worse than North Korea

Amazon is worse than North Korea. The phrase “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (from the book “1984”) perfectly describes Amazon’s management policies. Everything that has to do with job performance is based on a computer program. Managers only look at what the computer program shows.

I was recently given a written warning because I had exceeded a certain amount of mistakes in a work week. My manager talked to me TWO WEEKS after the fact so I had no idea what those mistakes were. I handled approx. 10,000 items in that time. I don’t even remember what I had for lunch two weeks ago, let alone any mistakes I made in handling items. Why did he wait instead of nipping errors in the bud right when they occurred? No real answer - that's just how long it takes to get the data through the process. Good thing I wasn’t handling toxic waste and only to find out about a mistake handling it two weeks later!

The most frustrating part is that my previous ten weeks showed I was above average in my stow count and below average in errors. I asked my manager why he doesn't recognize that my performance was always above average and then I had one bad week? Apparently, that doesn’t mean anything at Amazon.

I asked my manager why he doesn't have a backbone (like in the leadership principals) and stand up for me but he's terrified of losing his job if he doesn't do exactly what his boss says. If it’s printed in black and white from senior leadership, it must be adhered to! Sieg Heil!

The way errors are measured and calculated is basically a mathematical calculation which has an end result show on a screen. If the end result is that you’re making "too many mistakes", you will be "re-trained" along with a written warning. If not, you’re performing at an acceptable rate and no corrective action is needed. No reward for doing a great job and "re-training" otherwise. Sounds pretty North Korean to me...

All that being the case, the most annoying parts of Amazon are the pre-shift, after lunch, and end of the shift meetings. The managers are like cheerleaders. They play music, fist bump, clap, and pretend we’re all back in elementary school trying to win a school spirit competition. If you don't participate, it's seen as a very negative thing. I guess you must cheer to thank the great leader for allowing you to survive another work day!

I really wish they'd just stop all the crap and leave us alone. Cheering doesn't make up for how badly all us workers are treated by managers. It just makes it worse. I hate Amazon and am just here to get paid and to get benefits. LEAVE ME ALONE! If they won't, I guess I'll just quit like everyone else after a year or two of dealing with this crap.