Jeff Bezos Says Amazon Won’t Tolerate ‘Callous’ Management Practices

[Arty]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/17/can-continue-support-amazon/31831119/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/technology/amazon-bezos-workplace-management-practices.html

 

ome of the more memorable anecdotes:

 

• A woman who just lost a child in pregnancy was put on performance review, because she wasn’t giving her all to the company.

 

• Emails are sent out at all hours — miss the midnight email, and you get a text message a few minutes later asking why you haven’t replied.

 

• Daily performance reviews are standard, giving employees the opportunity to chime in and tear down others--anonymously.

 

Amazon is described as a place for overachievers to go to feel bad about themselves. The e-tailer admits it's a tough place to work.

 

In a YouTube video aimed at attracting employees to Amazon, a senior engineer says, “You either fit here or you don’t. There is no middle ground.”

 

 

 

 

In response to the New York Times article, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told employees he didn’t recognize the company described.

 

He refers to “shockingly callous management practices, including people being treated without empathy while enduring family tragedies and serious health problems,” and urges employees to contact human relations and/or himself directly if any situation like this occurred.

 

“Even if it’s rare or isolated, our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero.”

 

Amazon has created havoc in the retail industry, forcing hundreds of stores to close, due to the lower-priced competition it provides.

 

The reason the company is so hard-charging is its on a mission: it wants to turn online orders into almost instant delive

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/jefferson-graham

 

 

 

WEll this is a awkward situation. 

Im sure its like this in most places.

[deVIZtation]

Walmart 2.0?

[Arty]

Walmart 2.0?

ew walmart. 

[Suika]

It really is the digital Wal-Mart.

[Syntaxvgm]

Walmart 2.0?

harder, better, faster, primer 

[HaloFan9087]

meh, as long as they are not doing anything illegal it is really their choice on how to evaluate it's employees.  Some of this seems harsh (particularly the first bullet point) but this is likely the sad reality of corporations like amazon who need everyone pulling their weight at all times for the business to function.

[deadher0]

As long as they operate within legal boundaries, Amazon should be allowed to demand the the work ethic required to make that business function.  People are welcome to find other jobs.  Welcome to America. 

[Yoinkerman]

America, where they're proud to act like it's 1657

[That Norwegian Guy]

I can't formulate into words the level of disgust I feel at this.

[bogus]

Welcome to the retail world - the only difference is that this shop is online.

 

It's a vicious world. You don't know what a negotiation is until you've done it with them.

[spartaman64]

meh, as long as they are not doing anything illegal it is really their choice on how to evaluate it's employees.  Some of this seems harsh (particularly the first bullet point) but this is likely the sad reality of corporations like amazon who need everyone pulling their weight at all times for the business to function.

 

 

As long as they operate within legal boundaries, Amazon should be allowed to demand the the work ethic required to make that business function.  People are welcome to find other jobs.  Welcome to America. 

except by operating this way the productivity of employees go way down. in germany people are required by law to take vacation days and they became the biggest economy in europe because of how productive their workers are and the quality work they produce

[Centurius]

This, people, is the price of same-day delivery with 50% off the average price.

[pwizza]

Dear Jeff Bezos,

not so long ago your company was caught having a little lager camp in Germany .

best regards .

This, people, is the price of same-day delivery with 50% off the average price.

honestly I buy from Amazon because of 3 main factors:

- the fact that I can potentially ask for a refund much more easily and quickly compared to other online vendors

- the fact that it's a big company so the courier is less inclined to mess with things

- the postage is already included in the price

the price itself it's not a real advantage, Amazon is really really not cheap as people say, I can easily find the same object online for the same price or less, I don't have to rush because Amazon is the only one to have a given product or a given price .

With Amazon there is also the problem of the prices that are extremely variable even in really short timeframes, in a couple of hours you can see prices floating up and down with double digits variations .

There are also many aspects of Amazon that are never convenient, like the Kindle for example, with the Kindle store, you are not even buying books, you are just renting them with an undefinite expiration date . The success of the Kindle is the demonstration that people don't even want to know what they sign up for .

[The Sociologist]

except by operating this way the productivity of employees go way down. in germany people are required by law to take vacation days and they became the biggest economy in europe because of how productive their workers are and the quality work they produce

Yeah exactly! In Japan they have freaking sleep parlors where people can eat lunch and then take a nap for 30 minutes. Taking a 30 min nap everyday boosts productivity. Hell-like working conditions makes you hate the company you're working for and not give it your all. This is just a bad work ethic. If people are treated with respect they tend to respect the upper management more and work harder to fill their quota. That being said, lazy employees should have some harsh behavior required to get them to work.

[Centurius]

Yeah exactly! In Japan they have freaking sleep parlors where people can eat lunch and then take a nap for 30 minutes. Taking a 30 min nap everyday boosts productivity. Hell-like working conditions makes you hate the company you're working for and not give it your all. This is just a bad work ethic. If people are treated with respect they tend to respect the upper management more and work harder to fill their quota. That being said, lazy employees should have some harsh behavior required to get them to work.

 

You know Japan, much like other East Asian countries, has built a reputation for incredibly long working hours and minimal vacation days right? The reason they have those sleep parlors is because they basically have no way of getting the 6-8 hours of actual sleep needed.

[Misanthrope]

What gets me is this continued cycle of abuse Americans perpetuate: All of them seem to have real fucking shitty jobs, terrible working conditions, pitiful hours to avoid generating benefits, etc. Yet all of them at the same time want ultra fast internet for 19 bucks per month unlimited, cheapest cellphone plans available, their food to be served instantly 3 minutes after ordering, etc. Otherwise they keep bitching about it and abusing employees just so they can go off to work and be abused themselves.

 

A lot of this would be infinitely better if people were not such entitled assholes creating such unrealistic expectations for companies to fulfill and hence getting their workers a bit of a break. But the same guy that bitches about his 12 hour shift then calls customer support to bitch about his internet being cut off and acts offended when told you haven't paid your fucking bill in 2 months what did you expect, an award?

[TroubleKlef]

This is how Amazon delivers efficient shipping, lower prices, and a variety of reliable services. I'm not surprised it's tough to work there. They're all about pushing forward.

[Yoinkerman]

This is how Amazon delivers efficient shipping, lower prices, and a variety of reliable services. I'm not surprised it's tough to work there. They're all about pushing forward.

I don't think an unimportant email at midnight qualifies as pushing forward. If it was so important people need to be woken up, they would be getting a phone call.

[Murdoch]

Damn humans. Robots don't complain about shit like this.

[HaloFan9087]

This, people, is the price of same-day delivery with 50% off the average price.

 

But, but I love my one day sales..... seems like a worthwhile trade off. 'Murica.

[Darkman]

ew walmart. 

My walmart charges $80-$180 for hdmi cables, so I am pretty sure it won't be Walmart 2.0... Bet it will be a much better competitor.

[The Sociologist]

You know Japan, much like other East Asian countries, has built a reputation for incredibly long working hours and minimal vacation days right? The reason they have those sleep parlors is because they basically have no way of getting the 6-8 hours of actual sleep needed.

Exactly. If Amazon is going to work like that, they need naps in between. 

[Trik'Stari]

I'll just leave these here.

 

A fairly accurate summarization of the corporate mindset in my opinion.