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Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

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Re: Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

#3
One of the biggest issues seems the problem with bathroom breaks and time lost doing so.

Why does Amazon not put more bathrooms in the warehouses, so it doesnt take 10 minutes just to walk there and back? That's like a distance of more then half a mile...

Not drinking any water during ones shift doesn't seem a healthy solution.

Re: Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

#4
post #3

One of the biggest issues seems the problem with bathroom breaks and time lost doing so. Why does Amazon not put more bathrooms in the warehouses, so it doesnt take 10 minutes just to walk there and back? That's like a distance of more then half a mile... Not drinking any water during ones shift doesn't seem a healthy solution.

Yet again we see that the true cost not the listed price is. I wonder who approves these conditions in the company, or whether it is just some general company management culture embedded in the system.

Re: Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

#6
Why do hourly employees care how long your lunch break is? At least in the US it's usually not counted as work time. Assuming people clock out for the lunch break, I don't see why they'd care if it's 30m or 2hr, since people could just make up the hours by working later. Although I suppose it depends on the type of work being done.

Re: Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

#8

I see “modern day slavery” and I stop reading. There are no whips. No rape. No families torn apart. No slave ships. Grow up people.

Just as the means of production have evolved so too have the means of oppression and control. Not that I'm putting words in OP's mouth, but I'm sure they are not making a direct comparison of "this is just like that," more a "This is the modern version of that."

Re: Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

#9
post #3

One of the biggest issues seems the problem with bathroom breaks and time lost doing so. Why does Amazon not put more bathrooms in the warehouses, so it doesnt take 10 minutes just to walk there and back? That's like a distance of more then half a mile... Not drinking any water during ones shift doesn't seem a healthy solution.

[deleted]

Re: Reddit AMA: I'm a Former Amazon Fulfillment Center Employee

#10
post #3

One of the biggest issues seems the problem with bathroom breaks and time lost doing so. Why does Amazon not put more bathrooms in the warehouses, so it doesnt take 10 minutes just to walk there and back? That's like a distance of more then half a mile... Not drinking any water during ones shift doesn't seem a healthy solution.

Because it's often about the "piece of paper" cost. What I mean by this is explicit costs and savings are preferred by management: they can point to their bosses, wave a sheet of paper, and say, "See, I saved twenty-six dollars here!" In reality, it may have cost fifty dollars, but that doesn't matter. It's the same reason why we have open offices, "hot desks", and improper tools: the incentive structure is wrong.
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