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| March 24 2018 |
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| By: ROZZ Editorial |
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| Two years later, I'm thinking about my time at Amazon and remembering that awful day when a fellow co-worker jumped from our building in downtown Seattle. Some colleagues and I were actually on the street on the way to purchase some canned and baby products as donations for a local charity and there was pure pandemonium outside. At that time we did not know exactly what had happened, but we were watching emergency personnel secure our co-worker so that he could be lifted off the building. My heart went out to him and his family and I kept wondering "what would make someone do something like that? Were there no other options for this poor individual?" We came to find out that this employee had been placed on PIP, which is Amazon's Performance Improvement Plan for employees who need to perform better or face being let go. He had also tried to change teams because his manager treated him unfairly and Human Resources did nothing to investigate or move this employee to a more productive environment. Luckily my co-worker survived and this entire incident was swept under the rug as it always is. No changes to HR policies or management, just "move along, nothing to see here". |
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Human Resources |
I had my own run in with Human Resources at Amazon and it will forever stay with me. I reached out to Amazon to find out how to upgrade my level after finding out I was at a lower level than my colleagues who had less experience than I did. I met with my HR representative and candidly discussed my issue. To say the least, my representative was not very helpful and was even a bit dismissive. I left that meeting know I was not going to find any help in HR. Later that week, my manager called me into his office to say he learnt from HR that I had concerns about my level. He was able to quote my follow-up email to Human Resources almost word-for-word. I couldn't help but ask myself "isn't HR supposed to be on my side?" Not only had my HR representative betrayed my trust, but she had also shared a confidential email with my manager. I felt like everyone was against me and I certainly felt that HR was more concerned with the Amazon management fraternity than looking out for employees. Unfortunately, I finally understood how hopeless my co-worker must have felt. He was between a rock and a hard place as they say...battling with quitting Amazon or having a sure salary to support his family. |
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What is Jeff Bezos doing to prevent this from re-occurring? |
From what employees have seen nothing has changed since that day in 2016. Poor managers still "manage", employees are still unhappy to come to work and Human Resources still screws employees over. I don't know what happened to that co-worker who jumped from our building but I hope he has had counselling and is in a much more loving and supportive environment. For Amazon employees who are still stuggling to find a positive space...stay strong! |
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| Sources |
| Amazon employee reportedly injured after jumping off company building in Seattle |
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