Our associates and delivery partners, who are the foundation of our entire system, and it is their hard work and commitment that we want to salute this festive season. So join us each week as we unveil the stories of our people.
Amy has been working at our Melbourne fulfilment centre since October 2019. Here is her story:
In my past life, I was working as a disability worker and, for the last 5 years, I have been working overseas. For most of that time I was based in the USA and working at a summer camp with children and adults who had severe disabilities.
I found that work so rewarding. It taught me a lot of patience and changed my outlook on life. It made me realise that nothing is guaranteed in this world and that you shouldn’t take anything for granted. It allowed me to see how others, who have to live with these challenging disabilities, just get on with life and it gave me the perspective to realise that some of the minor issues you get caught up in on a day-to-day basis aren't that important at all.
After returning to Australia from overseas I was working for myself as a disability worker. I wanted to save a little bit more money and saw the job with Amazon and thought,“why not?”. I started working with Amazon on a part-time base last October. I love the people here and like the challenge and pace of the environment, I am someone who gets really bored really easily so working at Amazon is great.
One of the biggest challenges in transitioning from my old job has been getting used to working with people who communicate so well. I am a quiet and shy person until I get to know people and for the first few months working at Amazon I barely spoke. It wasn't until I was approached and offered a leadership role that I really came out of my shell. With my job as a disability worker, the majority of my clients were non-verbal, so I have had to get used to the day-to-day communication needed when you’re doing a job like this. I am now the Pack Process Assistant (PA) whereby I am responsible for ensuring all customer orders are packed and on the trucks by their allocated time.
Amazon was so on-the-ball in terms of their reaction to COVID-19. We all make sure we are always two metres apart and remind each other of our safety protocols. We were wearing masks way before it was cool! It’s funny because I kind of feel “not safe” when I am outside of work. Out in the public, everyone is kind of doing whatever, and that just wouldn’t cut it at work. I was at the supermarket a couple of months ago just before lockdown, and people were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and it felt so wrong. Because we are so safe at Amazon I have just become accustomed to it. We all take it very seriously.
One change since the pandemic has been an influx of new associates previously from other companies. It has been great to learn about people's backgrounds and get to know them. There are a couple in particular that used to be in the aviation and travel industry that have become really close friends of mine. We all embraced them when they arrived and made sure they knew they were now part of our team. We really are “all in this together.”
Looking into the future, I would love to stay at Amazon and work my way up in the company. We are such a big company and there are just so many opportunities, whether it be here or perhaps transferring interstate when an opportunity arises… I feel like with Amazon the opportunities are kind of endless.
Coming into the holiday season we love to hear how our Amazon family celebrates!
What is your favourite holiday food?
“I don’t really have a favourite holiday food, but I would eat Chicken Parma every day if I could!”
Do you have any holiday traditions?
“For the past two years I have tried to make my family dress in funny Christmas shirts, I am hoping that this year it might stick.”
What is on your holiday present wish list this year?
“More sneakers for my sneaker collection, despite my family and friends disagreeing that I need any more.”
