Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Seems like we just arrived in Campbellsville a week, or so ago, but Thanksgiving will make it exactly 4 weeks since we parked the Newell here at Heartland Campground for our two month sojourn. So, as of Monday we have reached the half way point, and on Friday we begin the final four weeks, and the beginning of five 10 hour work weeks until the end, or unless Amazon decides they don't need us five days a week.
I always feel like I have a little more energy on Mondays....I guess knowing I don't have to work on Tuesday could be part of that. This week we will have 3 full days off work as there was no VET (Voluntary Extra Time) offered to anyone. Things have been slow, but no doubt they will pick up significantly beginning with 'Black Friday' (November 23rd), and continue accelerating with 'Cyber Monday' (November 26th). From there it will be all hands on deck, with some choosing to work 6 days each week. We tried that the last time we were here, and decided we would never volunteer to work 6 days a week again at Amazon. In fact, one week we worked six 12 hour days in a row! Here at Amazon the 6th day, and extra two hours is strictly voluntary. You are only required to work five 10 hour days during 'Peak Season', and under no circumstances are you allowed to work more than 72 hours in one week.
I received a message from one of my readers forwarding a comment by another person about how elderly people at one Amazon site resorted to wearing 'Depends' adult diapers, because they were not allowed to take more than a couple of 5 minute breaks (everyone gets two 15 minute breaks in a 10 hour shift) to go to the bathroom. I've worked at two Amazon facilities over the last six years, and know personally numerous folks who have worked at another 3, or 4 FC's all over the USA, and not one of them reports any issues with taking as many bathroom breaks as are needed. As we all know, the frequency of visits to the bathroom increase as you age, and depending on where you may be in the FC when the urge comes it can be anywhere from a 2-3 minute walk to the nearest restroom, and another 2-3 minutes back to where you left your picking cart and scanner. If what this person reported were true then you would be in trouble just taking the round trip walk....forget about actually using the bathroom.
Now, it is true that 'they' do not like to see larger than a five minute gap in between scanning either totes, bins, or merchandise, but if they ask 'why' all you have to tell them is you had to go to the bathroom, and that is the end of it. I have never been talked to about the 4 bathroom breaks I take while I am on the clock, and have never felt like I was being prohibited from taking those breaks, or forced to go to the bathroom only during the scheduled 15 minute breaks, or during lunch. If there happens to be an FC where that is the case then I would never work there, and anyone who does, and feels they must wear 'Depends' to avoid taking bathroom breaks is working at the wrong place. I am certainly no apologist for Amazon, but sometimes I think people say outrageous stuff like this just to get a little notoriety. The entire atmosphere at the two FC's I have worked at revolves around safety, and comfort with your job. On any given 10 hour shift I will use the bathroom probably 7 times......four while I am on the clock, and at least one bathroom visit during each of our 15 minute breaks, and at lunch. The rule of thumb here at Amazon is you never walk past a bathroom without using it.
By the end of our final 10 hour shift this week I was out of gas, and everyone else in our small orientation class of 10/22/2018 reported the same. I spent the last two hours picking one gift card after another. I think I at one point I had 22 items in my tote, and 19 were gift cards.
We were home by 5:15 pm after a slow walk home. We could feel the chill in the air portending the cooling trend about which I previously wrote. No more unzipped jackets, and back on with the gloves and watch caps. I fell asleep in my recliner around 7 pm, but awoke a little after 8:30 (TLE had gone to bed) and watched about one quarter of the Ram vs. Chiefs NFL game.....when I went to bed about 9:15 pm the score was a respectable 16-7 in favor of the Rams. Little did I know that the final score would be 54-51.....the first time ever that both teams in an NFL game have score 50 points, or more....what a game that would have been to watch!
Now to begin enjoying three days of relaxation, and recuperation...thanks for stopping by!
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I haven't watched an NFL game since kneeling during the national anthem became acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI watch snippets here and there, but by and large I have moved on from the NFL.
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