If you’re looking to apply for a job with Amazon, you’ve likely heard a lot about what working at the company is like. This means you’ve probably heard a lot of positive things — and a lot of negative things as well.
Just like other huge corporations, some employees absolutely love working at Amazon, while others absolutely hate it. Below, we’ve compiled a handy list of why people don’t like working at Amazon!
What Do People Hate About Working at Amazon?
Amazon employees sometimes hate working at Amazon because of the hectic and fast-paced atmosphere, the lack of an equal work/life balance, and the turnover rate; you can quickly become burned out, you may have a physically strenuous job, and you may have issues with your coworkers.
Keep reading below to find out more about why people hate working at Amazon!
1. It’s a Fast-Paced (and Hectic!) Atmosphere
One thing all Amazon warehouses seemingly have in common? The entire place is fast-paced — and can often become hectic. If you’re not used to working in a fast-paced atmosphere, then this can quickly lead to you becoming overwhelmed.
Because the atmosphere is so fast-paced, this also means that supervisors expect you to do a lot of work throughout your shift. This isn’t a job where you can leisurely take your time. You have to work and meet quotas every single day on the job.
As a result, a lot of people have found that they really hate working at Amazon. To them, they are not being paid enough to deal with this hectic and overwhelming workplace situation.
2. No Equal Work/Life Balance
You may have heard that Amazon managers really push overtime. They always want people to work more hours than some people may want to — and some employees have even said that managers will push and push overtime until employees finally agree to it.
As a result, many employees feel that they do not have an equal work/life balance. They feel that they are spending way too much time at work — and their personal life is suffering as a result. Obviously, this isn’t fun for anyone and can bring down spirits.
While some employees say that you can always say no to overtime, others state that managers don’t really seem to give you an option, as they push overtime so much. This may depend on individual managers and specific warehouses, as every situation seems to be different.
3. High Turnover Rate
Amazon has a high turnover rate in many of its warehouses. There are likely a lot of reasons for this. Because so many warehouses have a high turnover rate, many employees can grow frustrated for a lot of reasons.
First of all, employees may not feel that the warehouse has an accurate amount of workers if people keep on quitting. Then, the burden to get the job done falls on them, a smaller group or a smaller shift. And that isn’t right.
Many employees state that this leaves supervisors to expect regular or full-time workers to do more than they can — and this leads to a lot of anger and disappointment.
4. Burnout
Many past Amazon employees are the first to say that they just experienced burnout. Some can only last a few months before they realize they need to leave. Others can last a full year — or even longer — before the burnout fully gets to them.
Doing the physical labor required at Amazon in long shifts every single week can lead to burnout, and this is what so many past employees hate about working at Amazon. As Amazon doesn’t necessarily offer a lot of paid time off, burnout seems to be almost common.
5. It’s a Physically Strenuous Job
Many first-time Amazon workers don’t realize just how physically hard a job at an Amazon warehouse can be — and then they’re completely surprised. In fact, many employees say that your body will take a full month to get used to the long, physically strenuous shifts.
Because it’s such a physical job — and because it can be so hard on peoples’ bodies — many people end up voluntarily quitting. They hate that Amazon doesn’t allow for a calmer atmosphere or shorter shifts that could potentially help them.
6. Issues With Coworkers
It does appear that a lot of Amazon employees hate working at Amazon because of issues they have, or have had, with fellow coworkers or even managers. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that everyone who works at Amazon will hate their coworkers.
However, it’s been talked about enough that we feel we have to mention it.
We’ve already discussed the high turnover rate that many Amazon warehouses have. This high turnover rate can make many long-time employees mistrust new hires, as they feel they’ll just quit.
Many people who were hired as seasonal or temporary workers have stated that they feel judged by full-time employees at equal positions. This is likely the reason why.
Many employees have also had problems with their supervisors or managers, mainly because their managers push them to complete tasks in a short time frame — and it’s quite impossible to actually get this large task done.
This could also be traced back to the issue with turnover rates at many Amazon warehouses.
Finally, some employees state that Amazon has lowered the qualifications that new hires must have so much — as they’re desperate for workers — that they’ve hired questionable people that make the entire job worse.
Now, this likely differs from warehouse to warehouse. Again, you may never have any issues with your coworkers. It really just depends on the warehouse you get hired at and how you proceed with some of these common issues!
Conclusion
Past and present Amazon employees often hate working at Amazon for a variety of reasons. This could include because Amazon warehouses have a high turnover rate, people have issues with coworkers, the atmosphere is very fast-paced, the job is physically demanding and much more!
