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Amazon engineer here. Many of us (engineers, data analysts, fulfillment center associates) are working more hours to cope with extremely high demand coupled wi

by jrd259 7y ago

Amazon engineer here. Many of us (engineers, data analysts, fulfillment center associates) are working more hours to cope with extremely high demand coupled with border closures and extra delays in the road system. This is, I think, good for humanity. If your local store is out of stuff, maybe Amazon can bring it to you, and in any case you don't have to leave your house.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
Are engineers and other traditionally exempt status workers being compensated for these additional hours?
- Infinitesimus 7y ago
  Certainly not
  - shard972 7y ago
    Sly Besos, he knows how to hussle and make a buck!
- lboc 7y ago
  I know a rhetorical question when I see one :)
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
  No. When I worked there we would do a week of pager duty that frequently required 70-80 hours and received no overtime or compensation of any kind.
- zdragnar 7y ago
  When I interviewed there (approx. 2012), I asked every person I met with about how many hours, on average, they worked per week. Every single one of them gave me a non-answer; most simply answered a different question I didnt ask. If there isn't an expectation of a consistent 40 hour work week, then it is highly unlikely that there will be any bonus for working extra during this time period.
  - thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
    I worked there as a Software Development Engineer (SDE) from 2007 to 2013. At that time, SDEs were paid on a salary basis with additional compensation in restricted stock units (RSUs) that vested in the future based on how long you stayed with the company a.k.a "golden handcuffs". SDEs worked about 50 to 60 hours during most of the year, 70 to 90 hours during an oncall / pager duty week, and 70 to 100 hours during Q4, the holiday season leading up to Christmas. The pay was really good, the people I worked with were brilliant and amazing, and it was exciting to build awesome systems and see them make a difference in the company's operations and capabilities. At the same time, it starts to wear on you and your family after a few years. I am glad I did it, but it's not the type of job most people can do for more than a few years due to how much it requires and impacts your life.
    - amzn-throw 7y ago
      AWS here. This varies wildly by team and doesn't match my experience at all. I've been on 3 teams over 6 years in 3 locations (though none in US so maybe this is why? #AmericaNo) on aws and retail. I don't know anyone that works 60 hours regularly. 50, maybe - you know including lunch. Oncall for the vast majority of teams isn't extra hours, just strange hours. But if you get paged at night people cover for you the next day. I didn't work on a Q4 peak team but your math is psychotic. 100 hours is 14 hours a day 7 days a week? If you went through that I'm sorry, I suspected our Ops org is psychotic, but that is too much. Still, i really have to wonder if you are exaggerating since the other 2 numbers were dramatically. Or you got an Outlier team. My org crunches for reinvent, sure, but what company wouldn't with a massive yearly conference where/when most of the products are launched.
shirshak55 7y ago
Please don't defend in name of humanity. "Imposing its demands on workers without any regard for their safety" If local store is out of stuff amazon can bring it at u but they should not be forced to bring without regard for their safety.
- IpV8 7y ago
  We're starting to see the mass layoffs begin. I wonder how much effort it would be for a company like Amazon to employ them as Temps. There is going to be a massive increase in availability of skilled workers looking for something to fill the gap.
  - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
    While that's good in the short term, I feel like when things reset we'll find that people never stop being temps - the status quo, once set, is hard to change. A lot of the jobs that disappear now may never reappear as companies realize they don't really need that extra staff.
    - Fjolsvith 7y ago
      As the owner of a small company that has a hard time finding good help, I welcome the additions to the unemployed labor market. My company doesn't wait for economic downturns to shed the staff that it didn't really need.
      - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
        Many companies do, but many companies are going to realize they run even leaner now that they are forced too, and why would they rehire if things are running ok as they are. Kind of unrelated, but: > As the owner of a small company that has a hard time finding good help > My company doesn't wait for economic downturns to shed the staff that it didn't really need. I hope that you're not saying you shed the good help when you don't need them.
dessant 7y ago
I think working more hours as a software developer is way less taxing on your health than overtime on the warehouse floor, and physical exhaustion brings additional risks for those infected. Overtime should be optional, so that people can decide if they're capable or willing to push themselves during this period.
- Frost1x 7y ago
  Probably not your mental health, which is a component of your overall health.
  - dessant 7y ago
    Again, the associated risks of overtime are not comparable between the two jobs in this period, and it was insulting that they were compared.
  - marricks 7y ago
    As a software developer and someone who worked at Home Depot doing stuff like loading lumber for a few years I really think warehouse workers have it worse off. Especially since it seems like Depot was a cake walk compared to what Amazon puts their lower paid workers through...
  - jsight 7y ago
    If you think that's bad, think of all the people doing medical work that is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting right now.
tclancy 7y ago
Without meaning any reflection on you personally >This is, I think, good for humanity. I think it's valuable to note it's good for the bits of humanity that live in the first-world parts of America, et al. Not so much the people who will get ground into dust getting Prime delivery times down while exposing themselves to disease all so I can get some book about teaching my kid in 2 days or less and then put it on a shelf.
- notyourwork 7y ago
  > I think it's valuable to note it's good for the bits of humanity that live in the first-world parts of America, et al. Not so much the people who will get ground into dust getting Prime delivery times down while exposing themselves to disease all so I can get some book about teaching my kid in 2 days or less and then put it on a shelf. Eh, this is the same as poor people eating fast food and rich people eating healthy organic foods. It is also the same as how rich people can afford to live close to work and poor people cannot so they spend more time commuting. This theme isn't unique to Amazon or one facet of the world, its everywhere if you open your eyes. Financially affluent people have benefits that lower class people don't and that is how our world currently works.
raxxorrax 7y ago
I don't think Amazon ships many essentials that it would justify the overtime in a situation like this to be honest. Of course people forced to stay at home might order more stuff, but...
- mullingitover 7y ago
  They just announced they are only shipping essentials.
  - raxxorrax 7y ago
    And what products would that be? Their "essentials" line of articles that are not literally essentials?
  - supdatecron 7y ago
    Looks like that article was for shipping-to-them (from suppliers/3rd parties to the fullfillment centers)
- ksk 7y ago
  What does the data say? What products are people buying as of now on Amazon?
- MuffinFlavored 7y ago
  > I don't think Amazon ships many essentials that it would justify the overtime in a situation like this to be honest. What essentials? Toilet paper? Water? These can be bought from Amazon, no?
  - raxxorrax 7y ago
    Hm, maybe there are regional differences, but I can only find some Fiji water for ~40$/0.1 gallons. There is actually some toilet paper which isn't too expensive. I guess you could also use the packaging for your derrière which would reduce the massive footprint of personally shipped toilet paper.
ailideex 7y ago
> This is, I think, good for humanity. I agree, I will and am gladly working overtime for which I will not get compensation in the hope of preventing layoffs at the company I work for. We all have to do our part to keep what economic activity we can going in the face of this crisis.

by jrd259 7y ago

toomuchtodo 7y ago

Are engineers and other traditionally exempt status workers being compensated for these additional hours?

Infinitesimus 7y ago
Certainly not
- shard972 7y ago
  Sly Besos, he knows how to hussle and make a buck!
lboc 7y ago
I know a rhetorical question when I see one :)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
No. When I worked there we would do a week of pager duty that frequently required 70-80 hours and received no overtime or compensation of any kind.
zdragnar 7y ago
When I interviewed there (approx. 2012), I asked every person I met with about how many hours, on average, they worked per week. Every single one of them gave me a non-answer; most simply answered a different question I didnt ask. If there isn't an expectation of a consistent 40 hour work week, then it is highly unlikely that there will be any bonus for working extra during this time period.
- thesuperbigfrog 7y ago
  I worked there as a Software Development Engineer (SDE) from 2007 to 2013. At that time, SDEs were paid on a salary basis with additional compensation in restricted stock units (RSUs) that vested in the future based on how long you stayed with the company a.k.a "golden handcuffs". SDEs worked about 50 to 60 hours during most of the year, 70 to 90 hours during an oncall / pager duty week, and 70 to 100 hours during Q4, the holiday season leading up to Christmas. The pay was really good, the people I worked with were brilliant and amazing, and it was exciting to build awesome systems and see them make a difference in the company's operations and capabilities. At the same time, it starts to wear on you and your family after a few years. I am glad I did it, but it's not the type of job most people can do for more than a few years due to how much it requires and impacts your life.
  - amzn-throw 7y ago
    AWS here. This varies wildly by team and doesn't match my experience at all. I've been on 3 teams over 6 years in 3 locations (though none in US so maybe this is why? #AmericaNo) on aws and retail. I don't know anyone that works 60 hours regularly. 50, maybe - you know including lunch. Oncall for the vast majority of teams isn't extra hours, just strange hours. But if you get paged at night people cover for you the next day. I didn't work on a Q4 peak team but your math is psychotic. 100 hours is 14 hours a day 7 days a week? If you went through that I'm sorry, I suspected our Ops org is psychotic, but that is too much. Still, i really have to wonder if you are exaggerating since the other 2 numbers were dramatically. Or you got an Outlier team. My org crunches for reinvent, sure, but what company wouldn't with a massive yearly conference where/when most of the products are launched.

shirshak55 7y ago

Please don't defend in name of humanity. "Imposing its demands on workers without any regard for their safety" If local store is out of stuff amazon can bring it at u but they should not be forced to bring without regard for their safety.

IpV8 7y ago
We're starting to see the mass layoffs begin. I wonder how much effort it would be for a company like Amazon to employ them as Temps. There is going to be a massive increase in availability of skilled workers looking for something to fill the gap.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  While that's good in the short term, I feel like when things reset we'll find that people never stop being temps - the status quo, once set, is hard to change. A lot of the jobs that disappear now may never reappear as companies realize they don't really need that extra staff.
  - Fjolsvith 7y ago
    As the owner of a small company that has a hard time finding good help, I welcome the additions to the unemployed labor market. My company doesn't wait for economic downturns to shed the staff that it didn't really need.
    - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
      Many companies do, but many companies are going to realize they run even leaner now that they are forced too, and why would they rehire if things are running ok as they are. Kind of unrelated, but: > As the owner of a small company that has a hard time finding good help > My company doesn't wait for economic downturns to shed the staff that it didn't really need. I hope that you're not saying you shed the good help when you don't need them.

dessant 7y ago

I think working more hours as a software developer is way less taxing on your health than overtime on the warehouse floor, and physical exhaustion brings additional risks for those infected. Overtime should be optional, so that people can decide if they're capable or willing to push themselves during this period.

Frost1x 7y ago
Probably not your mental health, which is a component of your overall health.
- dessant 7y ago
  Again, the associated risks of overtime are not comparable between the two jobs in this period, and it was insulting that they were compared.
- marricks 7y ago
  As a software developer and someone who worked at Home Depot doing stuff like loading lumber for a few years I really think warehouse workers have it worse off. Especially since it seems like Depot was a cake walk compared to what Amazon puts their lower paid workers through...
- jsight 7y ago
  If you think that's bad, think of all the people doing medical work that is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting right now.

tclancy 7y ago

Without meaning any reflection on you personally >This is, I think, good for humanity. I think it's valuable to note it's good for the bits of humanity that live in the first-world parts of America, et al. Not so much the people who will get ground into dust getting Prime delivery times down while exposing themselves to disease all so I can get some book about teaching my kid in 2 days or less and then put it on a shelf.

notyourwork 7y ago
> I think it's valuable to note it's good for the bits of humanity that live in the first-world parts of America, et al. Not so much the people who will get ground into dust getting Prime delivery times down while exposing themselves to disease all so I can get some book about teaching my kid in 2 days or less and then put it on a shelf. Eh, this is the same as poor people eating fast food and rich people eating healthy organic foods. It is also the same as how rich people can afford to live close to work and poor people cannot so they spend more time commuting. This theme isn't unique to Amazon or one facet of the world, its everywhere if you open your eyes. Financially affluent people have benefits that lower class people don't and that is how our world currently works.

raxxorrax 7y ago

I don't think Amazon ships many essentials that it would justify the overtime in a situation like this to be honest. Of course people forced to stay at home might order more stuff, but...

mullingitover 7y ago
They just announced they are only shipping essentials.
- raxxorrax 7y ago
  And what products would that be? Their "essentials" line of articles that are not literally essentials?
- supdatecron 7y ago
  Looks like that article was for shipping-to-them (from suppliers/3rd parties to the fullfillment centers)
ksk 7y ago
What does the data say? What products are people buying as of now on Amazon?
MuffinFlavored 7y ago
> I don't think Amazon ships many essentials that it would justify the overtime in a situation like this to be honest. What essentials? Toilet paper? Water? These can be bought from Amazon, no?
- raxxorrax 7y ago
  Hm, maybe there are regional differences, but I can only find some Fiji water for ~40$/0.1 gallons. There is actually some toilet paper which isn't too expensive. I guess you could also use the packaging for your derrière which would reduce the massive footprint of personally shipped toilet paper.

ailideex 7y ago

> This is, I think, good for humanity. I agree, I will and am gladly working overtime for which I will not get compensation in the hope of preventing layoffs at the company I work for. We all have to do our part to keep what economic activity we can going in the face of this crisis.