2 ms·

> You could quit and encourage others to do so. However, a lot of people would have to quit over this issue for it to start registering on management's radar, s

> You could quit and encourage others to do so. However, a lot of people would have to quit over this issue for it to start registering on management's radar, so that might not be very effective. A few months ago I was invited to an AWS recruiting event. For kicks, I accepted and went to listen to their spiel. There were quite a lot of people there. I'd say that for every software engineer at Amazon who quits in protest, there are 100x that waiting to take their old job. And with the market downturn we're experiencing right now, it'll only get worse. We have less leverage now than we've had in years.

_bxg1 7y ago
Yes, there are lots of people out there who don't care remotely about the greater good. Maybe even more than there are people who do care. But there's also a defeatist phenomenon - a Prisoners' Dilemma sort of thing - where people who do care, and could make a small difference at relatively small personal sacrifice, don't do so because their individual drop in the bucket won't matter on its own. I think there are lots of people who find themselves in that mindset, and I think if they all decided to take that extra step then a very real difference could be made. So my personal rule is to always take that extra step when I can afford to, no matter whether it will make a difference on its own, because I think of the other thousand people who might find themselves in the exact same situation, and how if we all took that approach it would start to matter. So for me: I could afford to turn down an Amazon recruiter on principle, so I did. And I told them why. Maybe I could've made more money, but I don't really need more money, so it wasn't a huge sacrifice. Now, each person's circumstances are different, and the economy right now raises the stakes across the board. If you can't find a job, I don't blame you for taking (or keeping) one at Amazon. But if you don't really need to, consider taking a stand, and maybe the next person will too.
- rootusrootus 7y ago
  I have thus far managed to turn down Amazon every time one of their recruiters comes calling, but I won't lie, it probably has more to do with their reputed office culture and their views of side projects than the plight of their warehouse workers. I just don't know enough about the warehouse conditions to have a particularly informed (and therefore strong) opinion.
GVIrish 7y ago
Maybe so, but recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding new employees is expensive. If turnover at AWS suddenly spiked it would inflict some pain on the company. Yeah there are always people applying, but institutional knowledge would suffer, hr costs would rise, and they may have to spend significant time finding the right person for the job. Especially if more people avoid AWS because of the culture.

_bxg1 7y ago

Yes, there are lots of people out there who don't care remotely about the greater good. Maybe even more than there are people who do care. But there's also a defeatist phenomenon - a Prisoners' Dilemma sort of thing - where people who do care, and could make a small difference at relatively small personal sacrifice, don't do so because their individual drop in the bucket won't matter on its own. I think there are lots of people who find themselves in that mindset, and I think if they all decided to take that extra step then a very real difference could be made. So my personal rule is to always take that extra step when I can afford to, no matter whether it will make a difference on its own, because I think of the other thousand people who might find themselves in the exact same situation, and how if we all took that approach it would start to matter. So for me: I could afford to turn down an Amazon recruiter on principle, so I did. And I told them why. Maybe I could've made more money, but I don't really need more money, so it wasn't a huge sacrifice. Now, each person's circumstances are different, and the economy right now raises the stakes across the board. If you can't find a job, I don't blame you for taking (or keeping) one at Amazon. But if you don't really need to, consider taking a stand, and maybe the next person will too.

rootusrootus 7y ago
I have thus far managed to turn down Amazon every time one of their recruiters comes calling, but I won't lie, it probably has more to do with their reputed office culture and their views of side projects than the plight of their warehouse workers. I just don't know enough about the warehouse conditions to have a particularly informed (and therefore strong) opinion.

GVIrish 7y ago

Maybe so, but recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding new employees is expensive. If turnover at AWS suddenly spiked it would inflict some pain on the company. Yeah there are always people applying, but institutional knowledge would suffer, hr costs would rise, and they may have to spend significant time finding the right person for the job. Especially if more people avoid AWS because of the culture.