Brittany Hardy
September 8, 2021
Week 3 – Discussion Forum
Case: Workers at Amazon are Not Feeling Motivated
BMAL 500
Dr. Cook
Step 1
Amazon fulfillment center workers are treated like numbers instead of people. Their
needs (outside of an average paycheck) are not being met, and it is this gap that creates employee
disengagement, low motivation, and high turnover. By analyzing the situation from the
employee’s perspective, it is clear that serious changes are needed if the company wishes to
retain happy, healthy employees, which has been shown to correlate with increased productivity
(Bakhsh Baloch, 2020.).
The acquired needs theory states that employee behavior is driven by three needs:
achievement, affiliation, and power (Kinicki 2020). Individuals will vary in the extent to which
they possess these needs. The workers in the fulfillment centers are not in an environment
conducive to fulfilling any of these needs. David McClelland, well known psychologist, defines
these needs as follows:
Need for Achievement: The desire to excel, overcome obstacles, solve problems,
and overcome and rival and surpass others
Need for Affiliation: The desire to maintain social relationships, be liked, and join
groups
Need for Power: The desire to influence, coach, teach, or encourage others to
achieve (Kinicki 2020).
Amazon workers are demonstrating that their need for achievement is not being met.
Employees are not incentivized to surpass goals with the current reward system in place The case
states that they have incentives to increase productivity by rewarding top performers with “swag
bucks” that can be used inside the warehouse to purchase items such as t-shirts, water bottles,
etc., however, direct statements were given from employees stating that they would much rather
have monetary incentives (Kinicki 2020). The case study also reveals that employees are often so
scared of not meeting their quotas and getting written up that they refuse to take the time to walk
to the restroom, and have been known to urinate in bottles in the warehouse. Employees will also
often come in to work when they are too sick or injured to work, despite how physically taxing
the work is, to avoid being reprimanded for taking too many unpaid days off (Kinicki 2020).
This fear-based culture does not promote employee retention because while fear (stemming from
fear of losing one’s job) is a powerful motivator, it is not sustainable long term (Bakhsh Baloch,
2020).
Amazon workers’ need for affiliation is also unmet because of the lack of relationship,
not only between employees and managers, but amongst employees that work alongside one
another. The case states that management discourages camaraderie of any kind because they are
so intensely focused on their productivity goals. Affiliation and the sense of belonging are a huge
factor in organizational commitment and overall job satisfaction (Kinicki 2020). Stripping away
human interaction only further disengages employees from their work. Additionally, the need for
power is left unmet because the turnover rate is so high. Many employees are not sticking around
long enough to advance to a supervisory position where they are given the opportunity to train
and coach new employees.
Employee needs being unmet is the root of the problem with Amazon employee
motivation. For example, extrinsic motivation is low because, as discussed, there is no valuable
reward system in place for employees. In 2018, Southwest Airlines paid out $544 million dollars
in profit sharing bonuses, increasing every employee’s salary by nearly 10.8 percent. Southwest
CEO, Gary Kelly, stated that their employees were their greatest asset and deserve all the credit
for their continued success (Kinicki 2020). This is a stark contrast to the culture at Amazon.
Step 2
McGregor’s Theory X seems to be a leading cause in the gap at Amazon. The employees
are monitored so intensely and given no amount of independence or trust by their employer.
According to Theory X, employees can only be motivated by rewards and punishment (Kinicki
2020). While Amazon seems to have the punishment aspect nailed down, it also seems to be
sorely lacking in the rewards department. Additionally, the organizational climate employees
experience is directly affected by the “Top-Down” management style (Kinicki 2020). In this
approach, managers are changing employee tasks to increase motivation and productivity. Once
again, it seems that they have figured out how to maximize productivity, but at cost of the
employee motivation and overall job satisfaction.
Step 3
A suggested solution to this problem at Amazon is to first eliminate the dissatisfaction
before trying to increase performance and motivation, as Frederick Herzberg suggests in the
Motivator-Hygiene Theory (Kinicki 2020). The poor hygiene factors affecting Amazon need to
be removed by amending the harsh policies regarding employee time off and increasing
employee raises to more than the mere 0.25 per year reported by some employees. Additionally,
changing the policy regarding quotas and incorporating more rewards for meeting and surpassing
goals versus instilling a culture of fear would alleviate job dissatisfaction. Once the
dissatisfaction has been lifted, the company could then incorporate motivating factors such as job
rotation. This may cause an increase in job performance, motivation, and engagement by all.
Changing up the routine for the employees not only trains them in other valuable aspects of the
job and makes them more well-rounded within the company, but also helps reduce employee
burnout that occurs when they are just going through the same motions every single day. Many
managers may first view these suggestions as counterproductive, however, treating employees
well is an investment. As the Bible states in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing
good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Christian Art Publishers 2017.).
In conclusion, to combat low motivation within Amazon fulfillment centers, it is
proposed that corporate first take the perspective of the employees they are managing and plan
according to how they would want to be treated in that position.
1.) Remove dissatisfaction by cutting poor hygiene factors such as harsh policies on time
off and meeting quotas that perpetuate a culture of fear. Decrease salary dissatisfaction by
increasing yearly raises to a fair percentage.
2.) Incorporate motivating factors to increase the morale of the organizational climate.
Enact a true reward system for employee performance that truly incentives them to
maximize their time, surpass quotas and increase overall productivity. Encourage
camaraderie between employees with friendly competitions and staff appreciation events.
Works Cited
Baloch, B. (2019). Effects of Job Satisfaction On Employees Motivation & Turn over
Intentions. Journal of Managerial Sciences, 2(1).
https://www.qurtuba.edu.pk/jms/default_files/JMS/2_1/01_qadar_baloch.pdf
Kinicki, A. (2020). Organizational Behavior: A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach (3rd
ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Publishers, C. A. (2017). KJV Holy Bible, Large Print Compact, Saddle Tan Faux
Leather w/Ribbon Marker, Red Letter, King James Version (Large type / Large print ed.) [E-
book]. Christian Art Publishers.
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