Amazon reviews

3.5

60% would recommend to a friend

(209,243 total reviews)
avatar

Andrew Jassy

50% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

Amazon has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 209,243 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Amazon employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Informationstechnologie industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

209K reviews
4.0
Jan 11, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Real corporate culture -- it comes from the top, it is consistent, it is communicated, it makes sense, it makes customers happy. People really refer back to it when making decisions. Kind of tough on the employees but you can't have everything. If you perform, stock options are excellent. If you want to be a leader and you can do it, you can get extremely educational access to incredible top people.

Cons

Stressful. Work-life balance is poor in many groups. High operational burden in many groups. Benefits are bare minimum -- their philosophy is they would rather give more grants to reward the productive, then to have benefits that go to all employees.

3.0
Jan 10, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Powerful business model on core retail business that drives seemingly unlimited growth. The basic principle that the company was built on which by driving lower prices it can fuel sales, gain leverage and reduce costs from vendors to further reduce prices fuel growth, etc. is brilliant due to its simplicity. In order to be successful this model requires long term thinking and Jeff Bezos is famous for that, which allows folks to focus on projects that may add a lot of value 5+ years down the road. This also leads to plenty opportunities for innovation, which are key in creating a sustainable business. Another pro is the fact that the company focuses on three things that do not change no matter what the economy does: great prices, great selection, great customer experience. No matter what the state of external elements might be, focusing on these three things gives a company an edge. Finally its obsession with customer satisfaction is a lesson to be learned. Being in that environment gives a unique perspective on how to manage a business that needs to be seen in practice to truly absorb.

Cons

Unfortunately despite all the great strategy surrounding the business, the people management is absolutely terrible which I suspect will have long term negative consequences. There is little to no structure on how someone can grow which puts your fate completely in the hands of your manager or manager's manager. Obviously in any company they will always have a very strong influence in your career, but the lack of structure provides you with no safety net in case you happen to land on a terrible team. There is little to no training when you start in the company, but you are expected to work your butt off and get results. It is not uncommon that managers will say that you should spend time with your families, but give you so much work that makes it almost impossible. Additionally there is little room for errors, even if you have had years of recognized achievements, a couple of months of bad luck and your thrown to the dogs. I do have to clarify it is not like this in all departments. There are pockets of good people, but overall the senior leadership simply does not focus on their employees as much as they could/should.

1.0
Jan 8, 2010

Be Prepared To Do Your Worst Work!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Location, location, location - easy commute if you live in Seattle. Some smart folks working down in the "trenches". An "OK" job for someone right out of school, and never experienced anything better. But a <b>horrible experience</b> for a seasoned professional.

Cons

Multiple projects mislead by mid to upper level management who had no idea what they wanted. Really guys, can you waste anymore of my time on such a simple project? Upper management caving to whims of executive management during project reviews - upper management would say one thing during a team review and do a complete 360 during executive reviews. A dry, sterile work environment…not a lot of happy folks to deal with on a daily basis. A fair number of personality challenged individuals. Archaic publishing systems and mediocre hardware provided to employees.

Viewing 208861 - 208863 of 209,243 Reviews

Glassdoor has 250,622 Amazon reviews submitted anonymously by Amazon employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Amazon is right for you.