5 ms·

This was the best article I've seen so far for describing and understanding the conditions inside: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-f

This was the best article I've seen so far for describing and understanding the conditions inside: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-f...

gambiting 12y ago
One could argue that Amazon just simply couldn't function if it wasn't as organized as it is. If the employees could take as much time as they like to walk to get the items they would need more people just to make up for the uncertainty, if employees could bring their own possessions in and out, inevitably things would get lost, and if they got lost, the system would not be accurate anymore,orders could not be shipped out and would have to be delayed/cancelled = reduced customer satisfaction. I have read this article you linked and I really find it hard to sympathize with the person who wrote it. She was paid a wage to do a job and to do it well - I cannot blame Amazon for making sure she was doing what she was paid to do.
- morsch 12y ago
  If a company can't function without relying on behaviour that is unethical, then it can't exist; it's as simple as that. What exactly constitutes unethical behaviour crosses the line is up for debate (and usually codified as law), the consequences aren't really. There's also a difference between making sure your employees are doing their job through monitoring on the one hand and on the other hand having an inhumane expectation of what constitutes their job in the first place. I think both can be done to a degree that's unacceptable (and German law e.g. poses some boundaries on both employee monitoring as well as maximum daily/weekly work hours etc.).
  - prostoalex 12y ago
    It doesn't seem like it's a permanent situation - increase in temporary labor usually happens during high-traffic pre-holiday season (also known as the magical spirit of Christmas) and the reason Amazon had to bring in so many temporary workers is that at the time of the article the Kiva Robotics technology was not up to snuff.

gambiting 12y ago

One could argue that Amazon just simply couldn't function if it wasn't as organized as it is. If the employees could take as much time as they like to walk to get the items they would need more people just to make up for the uncertainty, if employees could bring their own possessions in and out, inevitably things would get lost, and if they got lost, the system would not be accurate anymore,orders could not be shipped out and would have to be delayed/cancelled = reduced customer satisfaction. I have read this article you linked and I really find it hard to sympathize with the person who wrote it. She was paid a wage to do a job and to do it well - I cannot blame Amazon for making sure she was doing what she was paid to do.

morsch 12y ago
If a company can't function without relying on behaviour that is unethical, then it can't exist; it's as simple as that. What exactly constitutes unethical behaviour crosses the line is up for debate (and usually codified as law), the consequences aren't really. There's also a difference between making sure your employees are doing their job through monitoring on the one hand and on the other hand having an inhumane expectation of what constitutes their job in the first place. I think both can be done to a degree that's unacceptable (and German law e.g. poses some boundaries on both employee monitoring as well as maximum daily/weekly work hours etc.).
- prostoalex 12y ago
  It doesn't seem like it's a permanent situation - increase in temporary labor usually happens during high-traffic pre-holiday season (also known as the magical spirit of Christmas) and the reason Amazon had to bring in so many temporary workers is that at the time of the article the Kiva Robotics technology was not up to snuff.