Amazon Worker Says She Only Gets A 7-Minute Bathroom Break — 'The Bathroom Is A 3-Minute Walk There And Back'
The company is certainly not known for treating their employees well.
Frederic Legrand - COMEO | Shutterstock Monica Barajas pulled back the curtain on the reality of working in an Amazon warehouse. She shared several grievances regarding the billion-dollar company, including the time limit imposed on employee bathroom breaks.
A woman said that she only gets 7-minute bathroom breaks while working for Amazon.
Barajas recorded herself packaging items while a voiceover listed the reasons she doesn't like working for Amazon.
First on her list was the redundancy of the job, and second was the strict, 7-minute bathroom breaks.
"The bathroom is a 3-minute walk there and back," Barajas pointed out. "What the [expletive] do they want me to do? Run?"
Her grievances didn't stop there. She took issue with how closely employees are monitored, the faulty tape machines, the lack of sick leave, and the mandated group stretches.
“I feel like I'm going to court, having to go through security just to leave,” she added. “You have to walk through metal detectors to get out … then you have to walk for [expletive] miles to get to your car.”
Legally, companies cannot impose 'unreasonable restrictions' on bathroom use.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers must "avoid putting unreasonable restrictions on bathroom use."
Of course, "unreasonable restrictions" is both vague and subjective. Is 7 minutes unreasonable? What about 10? 15?
Speaking to BBC, Amazon worker Garfield Hilton, who has diabetes, said that sometimes it takes upwards of 15 minutes to locate and return from the bathroom while on the job. Yet these longer trips to the bathroom often lead to questioning from managers.
Amazon has long received backlash regarding how the company treats its employees.
According to a study released by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for Urban Economic Development, which included responses from 1,484 current Amazon workers across 42 states and 451 facilities, Amazon warehouse workers admitted to suffering physical injuries and mental stress on the job as a result of the company’s extreme focus on speed and pervasive surveillance.
Nearly 70% of Amazon employees who participated in the survey said they’ve had to take unpaid time off due to pain or exhaustion suffered on the job in the past month, while 34% have had to do so three or more times.
The most common injuries among Amazon employees range from sprains, strains, or tears, and nearly half of respondents said they had moderate or severe pain in the leg, knee, or foot in the last three months on the job.
More than half of workers said they were burned out from their work at the company, and that response rate intensified the longer the employees had worked at Amazon.
Considering Amazon doesn't have a stellar record, it shouldn't be shocking that warehouse workers like Barajas are being timed to do something mundane, such as using the bathroom. It's truly no wonder the company experiences frequent strikes and constant criticism.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.