Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#11

Post by bluedino » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:06 PM UTC

>> Mr Ciubotariu invoked the company's culture of fun in his LinkedIn post. "We have Nerf wars, almost daily, that often get a bit out of hand," he wrote.

This reminds me of Rackspace. Rackspace claims to have this great fun environment and they love their employees and they're always doing this fun stuff at work. I know a handful of people that work there and I'm always being told about the elaborate pranks games going on.

Then I wonder why it takes them 2 days for a sales specialist to call me back, 6 hours to respond to a support ticket or it takes them 45 minutes to locate my server in one of their datacenters.

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#12

Post by toyg » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:08 PM UTC

gdulli wrote: post #10

> Amazon's boss Jeff Bezos wrote in a memo to staff that the "article doesn't describe the Amazon I know". I'm not surprised he feels this way, being solely unaccountable in the way that his employees are and primarily responsible for both denying and preserving the culture. > Mr Ciubotariu invoked the company's culture of fun in his LinkedIn post. "We have Nerf wars, almost daily, that often get a bit out of hand,"…

I just wondered how you can have Nerf wars in offices full of electronic equipment. Do you go outside then? Seattle is known for being rainy... And how are you getting people out, all in one go? Doesn't sound very spontaneous.

Dunno, it just sounds awkward.

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#13

Post by littletimmy » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:09 PM UTC

sudhirj wrote: post #6

There's a bit of a divide that no one seems to be touching on - most of the issues talked about in the NYT article seem to be from non technical folks, while engineering tends to be a little happier for precisely the reasons Bezos mentions. Amazon and most other companies have separate staff, culture and levels of morale for engineering and non engineering divisions. Can't really compare them directly.

It is only happier because demand/supply seem to be working out for engineers at the moment. High competition to hire engineers = you have to be nice to them.

Bezos would treat engineers much worse if he could.

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#14

Post by srj » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:09 PM UTC

sudhirj wrote: post #6

There's a bit of a divide that no one seems to be touching on - most of the issues talked about in the NYT article seem to be from non technical folks, while engineering tends to be a little happier for precisely the reasons Bezos mentions. Amazon and most other companies have separate staff, culture and levels of morale for engineering and non engineering divisions. Can't really compare them directly.

Another anecdote: when I lived in Seattle I knew several amazon engineers and most seemed overworked and miserable. The reputation is that they hire college grads and work them until they burn out. My understanding is that the attrition rate is high within engineering so that may provide some data to back up this narrative.

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#15

Post by mason240 » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:11 PM UTC

chinathrow wrote: post #4

The fact that he has to defend their culture says a lot to me.

It's a big world, someone will criticize you no matter what you do.

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#16

Post by meddlepal » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:11 PM UTC

gdulli wrote: post #10

> Amazon's boss Jeff Bezos wrote in a memo to staff that the "article doesn't describe the Amazon I know". I'm not surprised he feels this way, being solely unaccountable in the way that his employees are and primarily responsible for both denying and preserving the culture. > Mr Ciubotariu invoked the company's culture of fun in his LinkedIn post. "We have Nerf wars, almost daily, that often get a bit out of hand,"…

The Nerf thing made me cringe too. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only software developer out there that does not want to be treated like I am some sort of over-sized elementary school kid.

Maybe I am just getting old... Work can be fun without resorting to gimmicks. What's next snack time and mandatory naps?

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#17

Post by alistairSH » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:12 PM UTC

"No one tells me to work nights. No one makes me answer emails at night. No one texts me to ask me why emails aren't answered."

Well, if you're willingly working nights and weekends (which we know you do, as you penned the response on a Saturday), then of course nobody is going to tell you to do so. This statement does nothing to disprove that those who wish to have lives outside the workplace aren't harassed by their coworkers and/or managers.

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#18

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:12 PM UTC

toyg wrote: post #12

gdulli wrote: post #10

> Amazon's boss Jeff Bezos wrote in a memo to staff that the "article doesn't describe the Amazon I know". I'm not surprised he feels this way, being solely unaccountable in the way that his employees are and primarily responsible for both denying and preserving the culture. > Mr Ciubotariu invoked the company's culture of fun in his LinkedIn post. "We have Nerf wars, almost daily, that often get a bit out of hand,"…

I just wondered how you can have Nerf wars in offices full of electronic equipment. Do you go outside then? Seattle is known for being rainy... And how are you getting people out, all in one go? Doesn't sound very spontaneous. Dunno, it just sounds awkward.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#19

Post by chinathrow » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:14 PM UTC

mason240 wrote: post #15

chinathrow wrote: post #4

The fact that he has to defend their culture says a lot to me.

It's a big world, someone will criticize you no matter what you do.

Treating employees in the fullfilment centers like shit is another side of the story, right?

Do you need sources?

Re: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos defends company's workplace culture

#20

Post by vermooten » Mon, Aug 17, 2015, 1:14 PM UTC

gdulli wrote: post #10

> Amazon's boss Jeff Bezos wrote in a memo to staff that the "article doesn't describe the Amazon I know". I'm not surprised he feels this way, being solely unaccountable in the way that his employees are and primarily responsible for both denying and preserving the culture. > Mr Ciubotariu invoked the company's culture of fun in his LinkedIn post. "We have Nerf wars, almost daily, that often get a bit out of hand,"…

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CMnBTFZUAAIs5UA.jpg:large