Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Comment
Steven Greenhouse

Amazon chews through the average worker in eight months. They need a union

FILES-BRITAIN-ECONOMY-LABOUR<br>(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 27, 2019 Amazon workers sort and pack items at the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Peterborough, east England, as preparations are underway for the annual Black Friday Sale. - Amazon, supported by the e-commerce boom with the Covid-19 pandemic, created 25,000 permanent jobs in the UK last year, far more than the 10,000 new positions the group initially planned in the country, announced Amazon on February 2, 2022. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Amazon seems averse to letting its employees utter a pro-union peep.’ Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that Amazon warehouse workers would benefit from having a union. The average Amazon warehouse worker leaves within just eight months – that’s an unmistakable sign that Amazon’s jobs are unpleasant, to put it kindly, and that many Amazon workers quickly realize they hate working there because of the stress, breakneck pace, constant monitoring and minimal rest breaks. Indeed, experts on the future of work often voice concern that Amazon’s vaunted algorithms and technologies treat Amazon’s warehouse workers like mindless, unfeeling robots – having them do the same thing hour after hour after hour.

And then there are the endless tales from Amazon warehouse workers that the company is so stingy about break time that they often don’t have enough time to go back and forth to the bathroom without getting demerits for exceeding their allotted daily break time. It’s hard to believe that here in the 21st century, one of the nation’s biggest, most respected companies makes it so hard for many of its workers to pee.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.