Employee shares she only gets a 7-minute bathroom break working at Amazon warehouse, sparking debate

Providing employees with basic benefits and perks at the workplace ensures that their health and well-being are not compromised. However, a woman who works for Amazon may not have the same advantages as others. The woman, Monica Barajas–who goes by @_princessmay_23 on TikTok–shared various reasons why she does not like working for Amazon. One of them is the very brief bathroom breaks a person gets at the company's warehouse.

"Reasons why I don't like working at Amazon," the video began. "You do the same thing over and over for three months."

She went on, "You only have seven minutes to go to the bathroom, and the bathroom is a three-minute walk there and back. What do they want me to do, run?"

Barajas added, "They keep track of how many boxes we do in an hour. They know when we are active and when we are not."

She revealed, "We only have one manager for thirty people. They try to give us VTO (Voluntary Time Off) after being there for 10 minutes. I just got here, bro. I need the money; that's why I am here." However, when the employee might want a VTO, the company doesn't allow that.

"The tape machine is always f***ing up. You only get overtime if you work for over 40 hours. Like, I barely want to be here," Barajas expressed.

Also, she revealed that each employee has 8 points before getting fired for missing a shift or a no-call no-show. "But they expire every 30 days, or you can use your PTO to cover the part of the shift you missed," she said. 

Additionally, the workers don't have sick leave. About her coworkers, Barajas said, "Worry about your bills, honey, not about what I am doing." She pointed out, "They know what boxes you did, so if they messed up, they would know it was you."

The workers also have to do stretches as a group. "I just got out of bed. Leave me alone," she said. 

"I feel like I am going to court, having to go through security just to leave. You have to get through metal detectors to get out," Barajas highlighted. "You have to badge in and badge out of the building so they know at what time you got in and out." Her video has garnered over 2 million views on the platform.

People in the comments shared their views and experiences. @ilizzylovee_ wrote, "You just gotta scan something every 5 minutes. I worked at Amazon for 5 years. It's a breeze. I came to realize people who complain about Amazon just don't have good work ethic." @lezz__1998 commented, "I love working at Amazon! You don't have to worry about customers or people bothering you a lot. You are just in your own world in your station, listening to music and doing your own thing."

@zakattak2020 remarked, "I'm a teacher and get zero minutes to go to the bathroom. Amazon looks pretty good." @jswkr4w0 shared, "You're at the wrong Amazon. If you're getting timed to go to the bathroom where I work, you can go to the bathroom as many times as you want without being timed or even having to ask." @leticiaharo218 expressed, "Sue them, you should go to the restroom as many times you want... check info of your rights in Google."

You can follow Monica Barajas (@_princessmay_23) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.