Background

Amazon is one of the largest supply chain management and warehouse delivery companies in the world today with a vast network of operations in a variety of sectors. Amazon maintains and operates thousands of warehouses which employs millions of people. The collection of Amazon jobs given below will help you explore a variety of Amazon warehouse jobs near you. Simply search by the different teams and the job category that fits your skill sets, and you will get a list of the Amazon warehouse jobs. You can also enter your location and preferred zip code if you want to search Amazon warehouse jobs near you. The search results will give you a complete understanding of all the job opportunities that are available at your location.

There are a variety of benefits and pros and cons of working in an Amazon warehouse job which we will look at in more details. There are close to a million warehouse employees across the United States at Amazon. The Amazon warehouses have a very high turnover rate of about 150% per year. The most important reason for the unusual high turnover rate is due to a peculiarity which is specific to the warehousing industry in general. Many of the warehouse employees who have worked at Amazon have equal amount of positive and negative experiences of working there.

Read more: How do freshers get jobs at Amazon? »

Warehouse Employee Perks

Let's look at some of the top reasons why the professionals at Amazon loved working there, and some of the reasons why employees might resist working in the Amazon warehouses, and which might contribute to the turnover rate. One of the top reasons why the warehouse employees at Amazon preferred working there was a good pay in particular. For the kind of job that you will be doing as an entry level employee at Amazon, the payment that is provided to you as compensation is much above average. You can see the minimum pay that is provided by Amazon mentioned above which is considerably higher than the minimum federal wage offered in the country.

In fact, the pay provided by Amazon to its warehouse employees is so good that it had put an upward wage pressure in a variety of other large corporations and industries like restaurants and retail stores. It is also important to know that not only is compensation good for Amazon warehouse employees, but also employees are provided with considerable perks and benefits like prepaid tuition, which is considered one of the best in the industry today. In addition, there are other benefits that are provided to Amazon warehouse employees like dental, medical and vision insurance, a retirement savings plan like 401k, and numerous paid time offs, along with vacation, sick, and personal days. The Amazon warehouse employees are also provided with a stable shift schedule where you will get full shifts if you need them.

Amazon Warehouse Job Benefits

Amazon employees can also schedule voluntary extra time or VET for overtime. It is also important to note that there are certain periods where you might be required to work overtime, which are known as mandatory extra time or MED. For example, this can be during some of the peak seasons where an employee at an Amazon warehouse might be required to work overtime. The Amazon warehouse job is also considered in various cases as great for introverts, because there are several jobs that might not be suitable to introverts, like a bartender job, or a cashier or waiter. With different roles that are offered by Amazon at warehouses, like the store associate packer or picker, there might be whole shifts where a candidate working at an Amazon warehouse can work without talking to anyone for hours.

Another particular advantage of working at an Amazon warehouse which have been highlighted by several employees is it provides a good workout, and helps keep in shape by constantly standing, walking, and lifting stuff for hours together. The Amazon warehouse job has also been highlighted as a good opportunity to make great friends, where people of similar value and cultural backgrounds might share good time and form friendships. The Amazon job at the different warehouses at Amazon is considered fairly easy to get, compared to some of the high level technology and software jobs that require advanced education and degrees. Use the job search tool and the links above to learn more about an Amazon warehouse job that fits your skill sets.

Amazon Warehouse Job Disadvantages

In summary, the assessment exams required for the Amazon warehouse job is to pass the virtual and in person interview with questions similar to the ones that I have shared above for your practice. In addition, there is also a background check and a drug test that might be involved as part of the online hiring and recruitment process. Along with the pros and advantages of working in the Amazon warehouses, there have been several disadvantages and cons that have been highlighted by warehouse employees who had the experience of working at Amazon. One of the important facts to note in these observations is that the disadvantages that have been highlighted by Amazon warehouse employees as part of their experiences is common to many of the warehouse jobs across the industry and is not limited to Amazon only.

In particular, during busy periods such as the holiday season where more people are buying gifts, many of the workers at Amazon warehouses are obligated to work overtime and extra time. In addition, there are vacation days which are usually frozen during peak season and when there is a huge demand of shopping by customers. The mandatory extra time or MET can prove to be quite a stressful experience for different Amazon associates, as they will have to work for about 60 to 70 hours every week during the season. Moreover, there have been some reports of seemingly arbitrary firing or layoff for employees at Amazon in their individual warehouse department.

Amazon Warehouse Layoffs and PID

It has been mentioned by many employees that it is easy to get laid off at Amazon warehouse jobs, especially for newer employees, and they might not be fully aware of the violations they have caused due to which their job was lost. It is also being said that misuse of PID equipment is considered one of the fatal mistakes at Amazon. Hence, it is often recommended and encouraged that to be on the safe side. New joiners and employees at Amazon warehouses should always try to reach out to their learning ambassador to learn more what is considered as a layoff type offense. It has also been reported by people working in the Amazon warehouses that employees are often feeling that they are just another number or an identification tag.

Employees often claim about not being noticed about the effort they're putting in, but instead they are continuously working without any of their concerns being acknowledged or heard by the management at Amazon. As a result, this leads to a loss of motivation, especially for those candidates who thrive on good work ethic and some motivation for their job. Along with this there are promotions provided to Amazon warehouse employees which includes a minimal amount of pay raise. The different promotions structure for employees at Amazon is starting with the entry level or tier one T1 position to a higher position called tier three or T3, which is known as a process assistant. The pay raise is often about a few dollars from tier one to tier three.

Amazon Warehouse Job Challenges

Due to few promotional perks, many of the Amazon warehouse employees do not look forward to getting a promotion at the Amazon facilities. One of the major cons of working at an Amazon warehouse has been reported to be repetitive work that numbs our mind in various departments at Amazon. There are a lot of jobs that come with working in the Amazon warehouse, where there are activities like stowing or packing in place for long periods of time which can get quite boring, and does not add a variety to the job that the candidate is doing. Along with that, many candidates might require constant stimulation, for whom this might job might get exceedingly difficult because earphones are not allowed in most locations in case someone wants to listen to music.

This has been highlighted as another con and a disadvantage to most of the employees working in the Amazon warehouses because a job at Amazon warehouse can get exhaustive and tiring. The policy of not being able to use earphones is often considered a constant source of added stress there. Many candidates working at Amazon warehouses would love to listen to music or podcasts, which might help them focus better and refresh themselves while working on the exhaustive jobs that they are assigned to do. However, there is little opportunity to listen to music at Amazon warehouses due to the strict policy. Amazon warehouse employees have, however, found ways to listen to music while working by using wireless earbuds, airpods, and smartwatches to store music audiobooks and podcasts, which they can listen to while doing their work.

Amazon Warehouse Job Health Disorders

Amazon warehouse employees have also been told not to wear any headphones as you might get fired, because you will be spotted easily if you are operating on the PID equipments. PID is a short form of powered industrial trucks, which have very strict and high maintenance and safety standards while working in that department. One of the other disadvantage of working at Amazon warehouses that have been highlighted by the employees is soreness and fatigue due to repetitive work that demands physical fitness and energy. There are a variety of warehouse roles at Amazon like storing and packing, which can cause exertion due to the amount of physical activities involved. Musculoskeletal disorders or MSDs is very common among the Amazon warehouse employees who are working near you.

There are a variety of tips and best practices that are provided by Amazon warehouse employees to minimize the effect of the soreness and fatigue that you might experience. Good work shoes have been recommended by a majority of the Amazon warehouse employees so that you get to do the majority of the work without stressing out your legs. There is a program provided by Amazon called Amazon Zappos at Work Program which is targeted to provide free credit every year to the warehouse employees for buying shoes for work. There are a variety of types of back braces which are recommended by Amazon warehouse employees that help prevent the back pain, which is a frequent complaint of a variety of Amazon warehouse employees.

Amazon Warehouse Promotion Favoritism

Based on the experiences shared by hundreds of Amazon employees, it has been highlighted that favoritism is one of the major challenges and complaints. Favoritism is found in various aspects in the Amazon warehouse work culture, especially in the promotion scenarios. There is a widespread suspicion among the Amazon warehouse employees that those who get promotions are not necessarily one of the most deserving, but who are friendly to the managers.

It has been also mentioned that favoritism is all about networking and highlighting your achievements, and getting recognition in the majority of the cases. One of the main cons and disadvantages of working at Amazon that has been highlighted by Amazon warehouse employees is the feeling of depression and anxiety, for which there is no support system at work. The constant work in Amazon warehouses has very little human interaction which many employees have suffered from and could not tolerate any more, due to which they were forced to leave their job.