Why you should be thinking about employee engagement
“Nearly every person I worked with,” said one ex-staffer, “I saw cry at their desk.”
“The joke in the office was that when it came to work/life balance, work came first, life came second, and trying to find the balance came last,” said another.
These quotes from former Amazon employees were published in a 2015 New York Times exposé on the e-commerce juggernaut.
The article depicted a cut-throat environment with punishing hours, non-existent sick leaves, and rampant inter-company sabotage.
It also highlighted how that same, destructive culture fuelled Amazon’s massive success.
When the story went to print, Amazon had just surpassed Walmart as the most valuable U.S. retailer, with a market valuation of $250 billion.
It seemed Amazon was doing something right.
Despite the long hours and harsh rules, Amazon was thriving because so many employees were highly engaged with their daily work. They were challenged to chase the cutting edge of innovation. They were excited to be part of Amazon’s journey.
Clearly, the atmosphere fostered by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos isn’t ideal.
