Yesterday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post. This seems like as good a time as any to roll out a few more true stories from the Amazon warehouse workers who make the whole machine go. Jeff Bezos wouldn't be here without them.

"Have Fun, Work Hard, Make History"

I was happy to get hired on to amazon. Shopping at amazon is such fun and receiving those cardboard boxes is always exciting, it's like Christmas comes to your door. I was super excited to get my job at amazon, partly because I actually wanted to see the inner workings of the facility and how the process worked. I did my research beforehand, just to see how the culture was at amazon. Sadly, the negative reviews from former employees are spot on.

I worked part time at warehouse in Tennessee (probably the same one as the person you quoted) and let me tell you, the part time position was more than enough. I worked in the sort department, (i.e. sorting customer orders out of bins and putting them into designated slots on what looked like a big bookshelf on casters) lifting heavy yellow tote bins and standing on my feet for ten hours a day was hard. To make matters worse, the management is very "dog eat dog" with people trying to out do each other in metrics, kissing ass, and trying their best to out perform all the other associates.

What truly is alarming is the amount of people that get injured on the job. I was out for a month and a half due to severe leg pain caused by too much standing on concrete and not enough support. I'm in fine physical condition and have never had any issues with standing for long periods, but the stress and strain of standing in one place, and constantly doing the same garbage over and over again took its toll on me physically. It was suggested that I purchase new shoes, which I did - specifically for the job, that didn't help. When I saw the worker comp doctor, I was told that a steady stream of associates had been in for various physical complaints. If amazon paid any attention to their employees perhaps that wouldn't happen!?

Working at amazon is a total bore and they are not any real incentives to, as they say, "Have Fun, Work Hard, Make History." The management tried, only half-heartedly by giving associates "swag bucks" where if you went above beyond, you could get little tokens that you can turn in and buy amazon swag? Who the heck wants to buy an amazon t-shirt or umbrella?! Seriously? If you want to give an incentive, how about some time off? Amazon rakes in MILLIONS of dollars every year and that's all they can give their employees?! (I won't even talk about the 10% employee discount, which is rubbish.) For the amount of work associates do and for the wage, I truly think amazon should look at how they treat their employees. Instead of treating amazonian's like garbage, we should be treated like people.

What many associates don't like about working at amazon is the environment. Sure, the job is tough and long but the management could make it better by actually being interested in the employees. I did my job with a smile but was left with a very bad taste in my mouth by managers who didn't care about me or others who were busting their butts to make sure their metrics were being met and that products were being sorted and packaged on or before time. Senior management is always pushing for more and more even if associates are giving 200%. I know of several managers who left due to inner departmental strife with senior staff.

The company doesn't care. For example, during peak (November to January) an associate is NOT allowed any time off, for any reason. I was due to graduate from college last December and I had to beg for time off to not only finish my exams but to go to graduation exercises. I still got 1.5 points for that, and of course, any associate that gets up to 6 points is automatically canned. After an extended leave of absence from work, I decided not to return to Amazon - one of the best decisions of my life.