ADAPT
Amazon calls it the Associate Development And Performance Tool. Associates describe it as “what gives associates anxiety and panic attacks because they think they may not meet their Rate”
How it works: Amazon associates who are processing packages at the expected speed get cards with two scores: 1) ADAPT and 2) Goal.
‘ADAPT’ is the benchmark rate, or the minimum Rate, associates have to meet when processing orders. ‘Goal’ is typically a rate above that. After 6 weeks, associates are expected to meet ‘Goal’ or better. The lowest 3% (or 5%, or 10%, depending on the facility) of associates who do not make their Rate get written up. Even if associates are injured or require accommodations, they are expected to make the same Rate. As soon as people miss their Rate benchmarks, they are given an ADAPT and are on the chopping block where the smallest mishap can lead to termination.
Amcare or OMR
Onsite Medical Representative, or “Where they send injured associates so they don’t call 911”
These people are supposed to have an EMT degree and work under the supervision of a physician but are usually not licensed medical professionals and are not adequately trained to provide medical care. Amcare infamously doesn’t have notes or records of associate visits, and does not report them to the government (which led to Amazon being cited by the Department of Labor for recordkeeping failures).
Amazon Force
“The hirer”
Computer program used for people to apply to work at Amazon. The program doesn’t require information about accommodations and doesn’t specify what the labor will entail (i.e. lifting 45lb items every hour). People are hired through Amazon Force but are not told about Rate, TOT, etc. until orientation.
Area Manager (AM)
“The person associates identify as the supervisor”
Director supervisor for a department who decides and communicates what needs to be done for the day. Identifies when an associate doesn’t meet Rate, and can terminate people
Assistant General Manager (AGM)
“Another person who oversees everything”
Assistant to the GM. These are also usually people who may have never worked as an Amazon Associate.
Cross Docks (XD)
Receive big loads of inventory and decide how much of what goes to each FC
Delivery Center (DC)
DC receives inventory from SC, takes inventory off trucks, divides them up, and puts them in cars to be delivered to customers by a Delivery Service Provider (DSP driver or independent contractor that manages deliveries of items, which can be seen as blue Amazon vans driving around your neighborhood. DSPs allow Amazon off the hook because drivers and deliverers are not technically employed by Amazon, and thus don’t have the same wages/benefits as Amazon associates, nor does Amazon have any liability toward them.)
Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO)
Defects Per Million Opportunities, also known as Quality Errors, or “An arbitrary excuse managers use to pick on associates”
Human errors that associates may make. Not necessarily cause for writeup, used more as a way to keep people on their toes. Intentionally obscure in name because anything can be considered DPMO. For example, if an associate scans the wrong item, they get flagged for DPMO and can get a verbal warning.
Fulfillment Center (FC)
Inventory comes in from XD and is sorted, stowed, packed, and sent to docks to be delivered to next facility
General Manager (GM)
“The person who oversees everything”
Head management of each facility. These are usually people who have never worked as an Amazon Associate.
HUB
The HU is a tool that Amazon associates are told to use to request time off, vacation, and leave requests. Amazon associates describe it as “The black hole”
Submitting any requests via the HUB may mean your request will get lost or ignored.
Idle Time or Time Off Task
“A way to surveil associates’ every move”
Measured by the time between subsequent scans, used to determine how much time an associate spends away from their station or not actively doing their job. Now being called “idle time” in some facilities, or Time Logged Incident (TLI). For example, if an associate needs to go to the bathroom and they spend 2 minutes walking to the bathroom, 5 minutes in the bathroom, and 2 minutes walking back to their station, they get 9 minutes logged as TOT. In facilities the size of football fields, associates may take longer to get to and from the bathroom. In some facilities, associates may get a verbal warning if they are away from their station longer than 6 minutes in a given shift.
Leave Of Absence (LOA)
“When can’t request vacation time, associates turn to this option”
Most associates struggle to get this approved. During peak when associates can’t request vacation, they seek LOA. If an associate asks for accommodations because of injury, Amazon puts them on a paid leave of absence and short-term disability (STD) (at 60% pay). Leave is unpaid if for other reasons outside STD or LTD (long-term disability).
Mandatory Extra / Over Time (MET / MOT)
“Some love it, most hate it”
Paid at overtime rate (1.5x) if an associate has already worked 40 hours in that week. Each associate designates a non-working day that they are on call for MET or MOT. Amazon is required to make calls for MET/MOT in the afternoon of the day prior. If an associate can’t make it, they are forced to take paid or unpaid time off. If an associate doesn’t have any more UPT and can’t show up to work overtime, they can be terminated (but again, this rule is not always applied equally across the board). Associates are required to work MET/MOT during “peak” season and the holiday season. If they can’t work MET/MOT, they must have enough UPT hours to excuse them or risk getting written up.
Mandatory Over / Extra Time (MOT / MET)
“Some love it, most hate it”
Paid at overtime rate (1.5x) if an associate has already worked 40 hours in that week. Each associate designates a non-working day that they are on call for MET or MOT. Amazon is required to make calls for MET/MOT in the afternoon of the day prior. If an associate can’t make it, they are forced to take paid or unpaid time off. If an associate doesn’t have any more UPT and can’t show up to work overtime, they can be terminated (but again, this rule is not always applied equally across the board). Associates are required to work MET/MOT during “peak” season and the holiday season. If they can’t work MET/MOT, they must have enough UPT hours to excuse them or risk getting written up.
Mandatory Time Off (MTO)
“Hours associates won’t get paid for”
If there’s not enough work at the facility, management may tell you to go home for the day. There’s no guarantee associates can make up the hours they lost. Associates are told they’ll get paid for having to take MTO but sometimes they are not paid.
Onsite Medical Representative (OMR) or Amcare
“Where they send injured associates so they don’t call 911”
These people are supposed to have an EMT degree and work under the supervision of a physician but are usually not licensed medical professionals and are not adequately trained to provide medical care. Amcare infamously doesn’t have notes or records of associate visits, and does not report them to the government (which led to Amazon being cited by the Department of Labor for recordkeeping failures).
Operations Manager (OM)
“Also someone who oversees things”
Oversee various departments. Also usually people who have never worked as an Amazon Associate.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
“Time off that gets accrued, used the fastest, and never enough when most needed, like during peak season”
Associates accrue PTO at a rate of 40 hours in a year, depending on their seniority. Can be requested and approved the day of.
Personal Leave Of Absence (PLOA)
“Usually the easiest to request and get approved”
Unpaid leave associates can take for personal reasons, including mental health, for a minimum of 14 days. Associates often depend on taking a PLOA to rest and recover from injuries or exhaustion. Associates are not sure how many PLOAs they are allowed to take in a year as the information is not readily available to them.
Process Assistant (PA) or Process Guide (PG)
“The person who is under the most pressure” or “Bottom of the management food chain”
An Amazon associate classified as what is known as the T3 position at Amazon. They help identify where staff shifts need to happen to keep the work flowing efficiently. If quotas aren’t being met, the PA gets reprimanded.
Process Guide (PG) or Process Assistant (PA)
“The person who is under the most pressure” or “Bottom of the management food chain”
An Amazon associate classified as what is known as the T3 position at Amazon. They help identify where staff shifts need to happen to keep the work flowing efficiently. If quotas aren’t being met, the PA gets reprimanded.
Rate
Productivity quota, or speed at which each associate is expected to process packages in a given timeframe.
If an associate doesn’t process packages at the expected speed, they are at risk of getting a write up potentially resulting in termination.
Senior Operations Manager (Senior OM)
“Yet another person who oversees things”
Oversee various departments. Also usually people who have never worked as an Amazon Associate.
Sort Center (SC)
After inventory leaves FC, it goes to SC to be sorted into regions and sent to a DC
TAKT
Borrowed from the German word Taktzeit, meaning ‘cycle time’
Time it takes for an associate to perform a single task in their job (e.g., 30 seconds to pick one item). It is well known that if an associate doesn’t meet their TAKT time, they will not make Rate, which can result in a write-up.
Time Off Task (TOT) or Idle Time
“A way to surveil associates’ every move”
Measured by the time between subsequent scans, used to determine how much time an associate spends away from their station or not actively doing their job. Now being called “idle time” in some facilities, or Time Logged Incident (TLI). For example, if an associate needs to go to the bathroom and they spend 2 minutes walking to the bathroom, 5 minutes in the bathroom, and 2 minutes walking back to their station, they get 9 minutes logged as TOT. In facilities the size of football fields, associates may take longer to get to and from the bathroom. In some facilities, associates may get a verbal warning if they are away from their station longer than 6 minutes in a given shift.
Unpaid Time Off (UPT)
“Time theft from associates” and “The way most associates get fired”
A bank of hours associates accrue at the rate of 20 hours/quarter, 80 hours/year for full-time associates; 10 hours/quarter, 40 hours/year for part-time employees and can be used to get out of working mandatory overtime or mandatory extra time without getting written up. Associates depend on UPT during “peak” season (like Prime Week and the holiday season) when they are often required to work overtime with little to no notice. Also used to cover for time lost when an associate is late to work. It is measured in whole hours, so if associates are 10 minutes late to work, for example, they lose an entire hour of UPT. When associates have a negative UPT balance, they may get terminated.
Vacation
“Another time off ‘benefit’ that gets accrued but often unused, especially when most needed”
Gets denied during “peak” season, between mid-October and the new year. Must be requested 2 weeks in advance.
Annual Accrual Rates for Hourly Employees (Biweekly Accrual)
| Years Worked | Part Time (20-29 hours per week) | Reduced Time (30-39 hours per week) | Full Time (40+ hours per week) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-1 | 20 hours/2.5 days | 30 hours/3.75 days | 40 hours/5 days |
| 1-2 | 40 hours/5 days | 60 hours/7.5 days | 80 hours/10 days |
| 2-3 | 44 hours/5.5 days | 66 hours/8 days | 88 hours/11 days |
| 3-4 | 48 hours/6 days | 72 hours/9 days | 96 hours/12 days |
| 4-5 | 52 hours/6.5 days | 78 hours/9.75 days | 104 hours/13 days |
| 5-6 | 56 hours/7 days | 84 hours/10.5 days | 112 hours/14 days |
| 6+ | 60 hours/7.5 days | 90 hours/11.25 days | 120 hours/15 days |
Voluntary Extra Time / Over Time (VET / VOT)
“Some love it, most ignore it when they don’t want to work overtime”
Paid at overtime rate (1.5x) if an associate has already worked 40 hours in that week. Before associates are called in for MET/MOT, Amazon may ask associates if anyone is willing to voluntarily fill the needed slots.
Voluntary Over Time / Extra Time (VOT / VET)
“Some love it, most ignore it when they don’t want to work overtime”
Paid at overtime rate (1.5x) if an associate has already worked 40 hours in that week. Before associates are called in for MET/MOT, Amazon may ask associates if anyone is willing to voluntarily fill the needed slots.
Voluntary Time Off (VTO)
“Coerced time off”
Not actually voluntary. Unpaid. When there isn’t enough work to do, managers will sometimes threaten associates by telling them they’ll have to do tasks outside of their job description, like sweeping the floors, if they stay to work their full shift.
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To learn more about working conditions at Amazon and/or speak with an Amazon associate, email [email protected] or [email protected].