Former Amazon Workers Who Now Work at Google Share Horror Tales

• Googlers who used to work at Amazon are sharing how a lot they hated being on the e-commerce big.
• Among the most important matters are these they are saying are Amazon’s overly frugal and aggressive tradition.
• The dialogue encapsulates hanging variations between the 2 web firms.

For some Amazon workers, becoming a member of the corporate’s archrival, Google, could be a surprising revelation and a aid.

That is in keeping with greater than two dozen Amazonians turned Googlers who shared horror tales about their time on the e-commerce big, and appreciation for his or her new employer, in an inner e mail thread referred to as “worked_at_amazon.”

Insider reviewed screenshots from this dialogue. Adopted by nearly 2,400 individuals, the thread is primarily used to attach ex-Amazon workers at Google, nevertheless it has change into crammed with jeers directed on the Seattle firm, individuals on the thread instructed Insider. These individuals requested to not be recognized speaking about delicate matters. Their identities are identified to Insider.

The dialogue — which describes Amazon as a penny-pinching, empathy-lacking company behemoth in contrast with Google’s extra beneficiant, team-oriented tradition — encapsulates hanging variations between the 2 tech giants, no less than amongst some former Amazonians.

“The tradition distinction is a whole 180. Amazon is a really kill-or-be-killed setting,” one of many individuals on the e-mail thread instructed Insider. “At Google, we’re inspired to dig and to ask questions. The tradition is heat. The leaders pay attention and wish to be useful.”

Representatives for Amazon and Google did not reply to requests for remark.

‘Frupidity’

A favourite matter of dialogue in latest weeks was Amazon’s “frupidity” — a mix of “frugality” and “stupidity.” Whereas frugality has lengthy been a centerpiece of Amazon’s hard-charging tradition, these individuals stated the concept had been grossly misused. Insider’s latest report about Amazon’s “Day 2” tradition, which cited frupidity, additionally introduced renewed curiosity to the difficulty, individuals on the e-mail thread instructed Insider.

Frupidity usually arose when workers wished approval for higher work units. One particular person, who left in 2020, stated they needed to justify getting an Apple MacBook at work. By default, product managers obtained subpar Home windows laptops and weren’t eligible for Apple units, this particular person wrote. 

“I discovered it ridiculous as a result of there isn’t any pleasure in Home windows laptops and when there isn’t any pleasure, no creativity occurs and when there isn’t any creativity, what’s a PM’s price?” this particular person wrote within the e mail thread, doubtless referring to product managers.

One other particular person, who additionally left in 2020, stated his group used to get solely single screens. To recreation the system, individuals would get interns for the summer time as a result of these momentary staffers obtained a monitor, too, and after the internships ended, these additional units remained. (Technically, the screens needed to be returned, however no person ever did that, this particular person stated.)

“Fairly frupid to avoid wasting $200 on one thing that might improve the productiveness of an engineer you had been paying six figures to,” this particular person wrote.

In some circumstances, workers needed to buddy up with colleagues who oversaw workplace provides, this particular person added. His group’s coverage was to provide just one laptop computer charger per particular person, for instance, however these near the office-supply supervisor had been capable of get a loaner — and never return it till their final day.

One of many individuals stated Amazon Net Companies, which is much extra worthwhile than Amazon’s retail enterprise, gave extra leeway when it got here to bills. On this particular person’s group at AWS, everybody had both two screens or an enormous curved Dell monitor and will usually expense a bunch of different stuff, they added.

“I ponder if AWS was slightly extra affordable and fewer frupid for small issues,” this particular person stated.

Some individuals complained as much as managers. When Amazon was engaged on its first iOS app, the group in cost griped about utilizing the “least expensive” MacBooks to do improvement work and was capable of get a barely higher model of the laptops, one particular person wrote. At Google, each worker, whether or not they’re an engineer or not, is handed a higher-spec MacBook, and people in improvement work might get a separate “devoted workstation” as effectively, this particular person wrote.

At Amazon, it might get petty at instances. Two individuals on the e-mail thread stated cereal containers had been taken away from their workplace kitchens as a result of they did not characterize a frugal mindset. One other stated Amazon used to promote instant-noodle cups for the next worth than the grocery store throughout the road. In a single occasion, workers at a employees assembly had been instructed to separate a bagel between two individuals as a result of they did not have the funds to order extra beforehand, in keeping with one other particular person.

“Ultimately, we obtained instructed, ‘Spending a pair hundred bucks on cereal is not frugal. You might be free to solicit donations to try to maintain it working,'” one of many individuals wrote within the e mail thread.

Frupidity has a protracted historical past at Amazon, one particular person wrote. The phrase emerged over 20 years in the past when the corporate determined to take away aspirin and different medicines from the mini kitchens to economize, this particular person wrote within the e mail thread. Ethan Evans, a former Amazon vp who spent over 15 years on the firm, lately wrote in a weblog put up that frupidity was the official title of probably the most steadily “degenerate” management ideas at Amazon.

Easy methods to ‘unlearn’ Amazon methods

The larger distinction between Google and Amazon, in keeping with these individuals, is workers’ willingness to assist one another. 

One one that lately joined Google, after 15 years at Amazon, stated the tempo and basic helpfulness and respect she’s observing at her new job had been a “actual breath of recent air.” Going to Google from Amazon was a “tradition shock,” one other particular person wrote, as a result of it is OK to play the new-employee card for the primary few months on the job. 

“I’ve to remind myself that I need not have all of the solutions by the top of my first week, as I used to be conditioned to do at Amazon,” the primary particular person wrote.

That additionally means studying the best way to “unlearn” the issues they picked up whereas working at Amazon. One particular person wrote that they had been suggested by their new Google colleagues to “neglect all the things about Amazon tradition” as a result of it will “not serve you effectively at Google.” Google works higher when “we’re good individuals,” one of many individuals added, saying “the magic sauce for efficient groups is empathy.”

“I have a tendency to love all the things about Amazon tradition higher than Google besides one factor: how the workers are handled ;),” one other particular person wrote.

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Contact reporter Eugene Kim by way of the encrypted-messaging apps Sign or Telegram (+1-650-942-3061) or e mail ([email protected]).