Former Amazon employees just explained how terrible working there can be in painstaking detail
The New York Times dug deep Saturday into Amazon's work culture, and the results aren't pretty. They interviewed more than 100 current and former employees, many of whom had damning things to say. Conference calls on national holidays and the expectation of constant WiFi access on vacation don't even scrape the surface.
"Nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk," said Bo Olson, a former Amazonian who worked in book marketing.
Founder Jeff Bezos' philosophy encourages hostility and confrontation in the office, the Times reports, to the point where other Seattle recruiters sometimes avoid hiring potentially toxic former employees, nicknamed "Amholes."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The report also points out Amazon's top leadership team is all men. Several female employees said they felt pushed out of the company after creating work schedules around childcare, tending to ill relatives, or even recovering from cancer, miscarriages, and other health concerns. And fathers are out of luck, too: The company doesn't offer paid paternity leave.
Amazon's high turnover rate is starting to make a lot of sense. Read the full report here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published