Amazon Viewed as Difficult Employer Amid Huge Ambitions

White collar workers pushed to the brink at world’s largest retailer

Amazon is often viewed as one of the most successful and well-respected organizations in the world. Unfortunately, many of the organization’s employees don’t always share the same respect for Amazon’s activities.

According to an amalgamation of Quora threads, Glassdoor reviews, Reddit comments and unofficial employee surveys, a number of common complaints emerged among current and former staff members.

These common complaints include:

• Long hours: Amazon’s lofty ambitions place a large burden on the shoulders of employees throughout all levels of the organization. Many employees feel the stress of long hours and poor work/life balance, which leads to burnout and high turnover rates.

• Lack of perks: According to many Amazon employees, the organization fails to match the perks and benefits offered by other tech companies. The frugal nature of the Amazon top brass turns off many employees, making them feel less valued than those at other organizations.

• Ever-changing priorities: For many Amazon employees, keeping pace with the organization’s ever-shifting priorities and initiatives can be a dizzying task. With an innovative leader at the helm and pressure to remain at the top of their industry, Amazon consistently attempts new strategies. This can drain employees as they are required to abandon half-completed projects in favor of new priorities.

• Routine elimination of employees: According to many employee comments, Amazon executives often rank employees based on performance, and terminate those who cannot keep pace. Many commenters stated that managers conduct yearly reviews of employees and eliminate those found to be at the bottom of their peer group. Unfortunately, this leads to much infighting and the passing of blame between management teams and departments.

• Competition between employees: Amazon’s internal “Anytime Feedback Tool” offers employees an anonymous way to praise or critique coworkers. While this is common in many organizations, Amazon has been known to use these reviews to determine the ranking of employees within the organization. This can lead to political infighting and competition between employees as individuals strive to maintain their jobs.

Have you become the victim of an unfair or illegal employment practice?

Amazon is far from the only organization to ask much of their employees. In many cases, employers lean on employees far too much – some even go as far as violating state and federal labor laws to keep costs low and maximize profits.

If you have become the victim of an unfair or illegal employment practice, such as being required to work hours without pay, it is important to stand up for your rights.

The New York employment lawyers at Hepworth Gershbaum & Roth understand how frustrating it can be to be taken advantage of by an employer. We work diligently to help New York employees uphold their rights and obtain the compensation they are due for their hard work.

To schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your concerns with one of our New York employment attorneys, contact us online or call 212-545-1199 today.