Major Issues Faced by Employees at Amazon Australia

The report discusses the major issues being faced by the employees at Amazon Australia. It recommends increasing employee involvement and maintaining work-life balance for them. The report also includes a literature review, research findings, and recommendations.

Running head: BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Business analytics
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Executive summary
The main purpose of this report is to discuss about the major issues being faced by the
employees at Amazon Australia. In doing so, they are interviewed for gathering the authentic
feedback from them and further evaluating them. Questionnaire method was used for the
interview and sample size was eight. A total of five questions were asked including both open
end and close ended questions and qualitative analysis was being done. It is identified from the
analysis that the major challenge for the employees at Amazon Australia is the job stress and
high work pressure in the workplace, which is reducing effectiveness and engagement level. On
the basis of these, this report recommended that involvement of the employees in the
organizational affairs should be increased along with maintaining the work life balance for them.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature review..............................................................................................................................4
Concept of job demand resource model......................................................................................4
Criticisms of the model................................................................................................................4
Utility of the job demand resource model...................................................................................5
Managerial statements.................................................................................................................6
Methods and results.........................................................................................................................7
Research findings.........................................................................................................................8
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................12
Appendix........................................................................................................................................13

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List of tables and figures
Table 1: Problem identification.......................................................................................................5
Table 2: Managerial decision statements.........................................................................................8
Figure: 1 percentage of satisfied employees....................................................................................9
Figure: 2 identification of the challenges.....................................................................................10
Table 3:Research analysis..............................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Gaining the market leadership status in the global scenario does not reflects the long term
business sustainability due to the reason that business sustainability can be gained from the
effective internal management involving the human resources. Amazon is one such company,
which is already gained the status of being the biggest company in the world but facing the
issues of ineffective employee management. Amazon is the world’s biggest online store with
having their presence across the world. This report will discuss about the problems evident in the
business operation of Amazon Australia (Borjigin 2014). It is identified that there are few
problems being faced by Amazon in their Australian operation including putting the employees
in the fulfillment warehouse in pressurized workplace environment and stressing them for job
improvement (Vivas 2015). This is ultimately reducing the employee effectiveness and high rate
of employee turnover. This report will discuss about these issues in details on the basis of the
interview taken with the employees.
Firm situation Symptoms Likely problems Decision statement
Low employee
effectiveness
Increasing number of
errors among the
employees
Number of error
deliveries for Amazon
is increasing
Increasing employee
involvement
High employee
turnover
Increasing average
rate of absenteeism
Losing of competitive
advantages in terms of
human resources
Creating stress free
environment
Ineffective
supervision
Supervisors are
having low control
Challenges in meeting
the organizational
Employee relationship
management

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over the employees tools
Table 1: Problem identification
Literature review
Concept of job demand resource model
There are number of discussion being done by different authors in regards to the
importance of ideal and productive workplace environment and how it can help in managing the
job stress. In this case, the job demand resource model can be effective as this model states about
perfect balance between the job resources and job demands can be beneficial in gaining the
employee motivation even in the high pressure environment. According to Schaufeli and Taris
(2014), job demand resource model helps in identifying the exact resources that are required by
the internal stakeholders in meeting the job demands. Thus, the more efficient and seamless will
be the flow of the job resources, the more will be the proper accomplishment of the job demands.
However, on the other hand, it is stated by Searle and Lee (2015) that job demand resource
model will be effective in the real world situation only when the job resources will be related to
the job demands and different jobs are having different sets of requirements. This should be
noted that different organizations are operating in different business situations and they are
having different job requirements. Thus, as per the authors, the resources should be based on the
specific job demands in order to have fruitful outcome.
Criticisms of the model
Even though the job demands resource model is popular and being widely used in
different business situations but there is number of criticisms also being identified. According to
Van den Broeck et al. (2013), job demand resource model is having four key elements regarding

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the situations that the employees can face. However, in the current business scenario, there are
number of diverse situations relevant in the workplace and the employees can face different
situations apart from the four stated in this model. Thus, this model is denoting the entire
workplace scenario relevant in the contemporary business scenario. In addition, it is stated by
Schaufeli (2017) that each of the job resources is dependent on each other and will determine the
overall effectiveness in meeting the job demands. For instance, employees are provided with
required autonomy in their workplace but are not having clear stated goals. This will affect the
overall productivity and performance of the employees. Hence, as per the job demand resource
model, it is difficult to meet all the job resources at any business situations and it can also be
considered as a major limitation of this model.
Utility of the job demand resource model
It is stated by Bakker and Demerouti (2017) that one of the major benefits of the job
demand resource model in defining the business problems is the equal considerations of both the
resources and demands. This is due to the reason that in majority of the cases, determination of
the job resources is given the least focus and on the basis of the job demands, they are identified.
Thus, the overall job resources are not getting fulfilled, which can be identified with the help of
this model. On the other hand, it is stated by Jang et al. (2017) that job demand resource model
can also help in identifying the problems in relation to the job satisfaction and engagement. This
is due to the reason that if the certain workplace is facing the challenge of lack of employee
motivation and high turnover, then as per this model, the job resources can be checked and gaps
in providing certain resources will get identified. For instance, in the case of workplace issue in
Amazon Australia, core problems can be identified with the help of the job demand resource

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model and the resources that are lacking will be identified along with the limitations in the job
demand.
Managerial statements
Research questions Research objectives Management decision
How to identify the key
reasons for lack of
employee motivation?
To determine the core
factors that affects the level
of employee motivation
According to job demand resource
model, required resources for the
employees should fulfilled to enhance
the employee motivation (Brough et al.
2013)
What are core reasons
for job stress?
To identify the key factors
that led to the job stress for
the employees
Not having adequate job resources in
place to meet the job demands causes
job stress (Tims, Bakker and Derks
2013)
What should be done in
reducing the job stress?
To determine the steps and
strategies in managing the
job stress
Properly fulfilling the required job
resources for the job demands of the
employees will help in reducing their
stress (Menguc et al. 2013)
What are the
relationship between
job resources and
employee output?
To identify the key factors
that bridges between the
job resources and the
employee output
With the proper fulfillment of the job
resources, employees will get more
equipped and motivated that will further
enhance their output (Chen, Yen and
Tsai 2014)

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Table 2: Managerial decision statements
Methods and results
There are majorly two types of research used for business analysis; quantitative and
qualitative. In this report, qualitative analysis is used because it shares more detailed view or
insights of the respondents compared to data driven quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis
refers to subjective judgment, which based on the intangible and inexact form of responses and
not based on mathematical terms. According to Vaismoradi, Turunen and Bondas (2013), one of
the major benefits gained from the qualitative analysis is the gaining of deeper insights. For
instance, in the case of qualitative analysis, respondents are majorly being asked open ended
questions to gain the differences in their opinions and understanding.
The data was collected by interviewing total eight employees from the fulfillment
warehouse of Amazon Australia. They are asked with total five questions including both open
ended and close ended questions related to their workplace environment. Hence, questionnaire
method is used. Collection of the interview data is done directly from the respondents without
the presence of any mediums or intermediaries. The questions asked to the employees are given
in the APPENDIX section. In the finding section, the overall view or the majority view will be
highlighted. In terms of the internal validity, the interview process of gathering information is
well effective because of the direct contact with the respondents, which helps in collecting
reliable and most authentic data. In addition, the interview questions are designed in such as way
that different viewpoints of the respondents regarding the job stress and workplace environment
will be identified. In terms of the external validity, one of the major limitations of this study is
the sample size of the research. Only eight employees are selected for the interview, which
cannot represent the entire workforce in Amazon Australia. Thus, different situations can be

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faced in applying the research findings on overall basis. However, the research findings can still
be reliable enough because inputs from only one location are gathered and all the employees are
from the same operation. Thus, their response is reflecting the real situation in the workplace.
Research findings
Yes No
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Are you satisfied and engaged?
Figure: 1 percentage of satisfied employees
Stress Unsupportive
management Training facility Schedule
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
What are the key challenges you are facing?
Figure: 2 identification of the challenges
Interview questions Response

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Question 1 Six out of eight respondents said that they are not satisfied in the
workplace. This refers to the fact that Amazon Australia is having
serious issue related to the workplace environment. This is also
causing the employee attrition and overall organizational
productivity.
Question 2 Out of total eight respondents, five are having the opinion that job
stress is the major challenge they are facing in Amazon Australia.
This is due to the reason that the difference between the employee
and job resources and job demand is more and is creating pressure
on the employees.
Question 3 This was an open ended question and most of them agreed that
management including the line supervisors are not supportive and
they are more output oriented rather than employee oriented. This is
also reducing the commitment level of the employees.
Question 4 All of the eight respondents have said yes to this question that
denotes that training and development program is followed
effectively and each of the employees are trained and skilled
enough.
Question 5 Almost all the employees gave the opinion that employee oriented
approach should be initiated. This will include more flexible
workplace and guidance and involvement of the superiors

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Table 3:Research analysis
Recommendations
Thus, from the above analysis, it is identified that employees at the Amazon Australia
warehouse facility is facing high job pressure and thus stress is affecting them. In this case, it is
recommended that employee relationship management should be initiates from the side of the
managerial and leadership perspectives. This is due to the reason that according to the job
demand resource model, mentoring and coaching approach should be followed by the managers.
This will increase the guidance for the employees and they can be able to deal with the work
pressure (Holt et al. 2016). In addition, it is also recommended that employee engagement
programs by means of offering more benefits, perks and work life balance should be initiated.
This will help in engaging the employees in their workplace and maintaining proper work life
balance will reduce the stress from them. The more will be the level of employee engagement for
Amazon Australia; the lower will be their employee turnover rate. This is an important issue
identified in the first section that needs to be solved. Lastly, it is recommended that level of
involvement of the employees in the organizational affairs and decision making process should
be increased. This is due to the reason that with the help of the involvement of the employees,
they will gain the sense of importance in contributing to the organization and will show higher
level of commitment and citizenship (Amah and Ahiauzu 2013). In addition, it should also be
noted that with the increase in the involvement of the employees in the decision making process,
their responsibilities will also get increased and they will show more effectiveness towards their
respective job roles.
Conclusion

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This report concludes that the employees at Amazon Australia are facing the issue of job
stress and high pressure working environment. This is causing a number of issues such as
employee turnover and lower rate of productivity. Literature review is also being done for
evaluating the employee job demand resource model and how it is effective in identifying the
business problems. It is identified that perfect balance between the job resources and job demand
is essential for reducing job stress. Eight employees from Amazon Australia are interviewed and
deep insights are identified. Majority of them are facing job stress and thus are not effective
enough. Accordingly, a few recommended steps are discussed for long term improvement.

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Reference
Amah, E. and Ahiauzu, A., 2013. Employee involvement and organizational
effectiveness. Journal of Management Development, 32(7), pp.661-674.
Bakker, A.B. and Demerouti, E., 2017. Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking
forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), p.273.
Borjigin, C., 2014. Mass collaborative knowledge processing on the amazon mechanical
turk. International Journal of Computer Science Issues (IJCSI), 11(2), p.30.
Brough, P., Timms, C., Siu, O.L., Kalliath, T., O’Driscoll, M.P., Sit, C.H., Lo, D. and Lu, C.Q.,
2013. Validation of the Job Demands-Resources model in cross-national samples: Cross-
sectional and longitudinal predictions of psychological strain and work engagement. Human
Relations, 66(10), pp.1311-1335.
Chen, C.Y., Yen, C.H. and Tsai, F.C., 2014. Job crafting and job engagement: The mediating
role of person-job fit. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 37, pp.21-28.
Holt, D.T., Markova, G., Dhaenens, A.J., Marler, L.E. and Heilmann, S.G., 2016. Formal or
informal mentoring: What drives employees to seek informal mentors?. Journal of Managerial
Issues, 28.
Jang, Y., Lee, A.A., Zadrozny, M., Bae, S.H., Kim, M.T. and Marti, N.C., 2017. Determinants of
job satisfaction and turnover intent in home health workers: The role of job demands and
resources. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(1), pp.56-70.

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Menguc, B., Auh, S., Fisher, M. and Haddad, A., 2013. To be engaged or not to be engaged: The
antecedents and consequences of service employee engagement. Journal of business
research, 66(11), pp.2163-2170.
Schaufeli, W.B. and Taris, T.W., 2014. A critical review of the job demands-resources model:
Implications for improving work and health. In Bridging occupational, organizational and
public health (pp. 43-68). Springer, Dordrecht.
Schaufeli, W.B., 2017. Applying the job demands-resources model. Organizational
Dynamics, 2(46), pp.120-132.
Searle, B.J. and Lee, L., 2015. Proactive coping as a personal resource in the expanded job
demands–resources model. International Journal of Stress Management, 22(1), p.46.
Tims, M., Bakker, A.B. and Derks, D., 2013. The impact of job crafting on job demands, job
resources, and well-being. Journal of occupational health psychology, 18(2), p.230.
Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H. and Bondas, T., 2013. Content analysis and thematic analysis:
Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing & health sciences, 15(3),
pp.398-405.
Van den Broeck, A., Van Ruysseveldt, J., Vanbelle, E. and De Witte, H., 2013. The job
demands–resources model: Overview and suggestions for future research. In Advances in
positive organizational psychology (pp. 83-105). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Vivas, L., 2015. Restrictive covenants in the e-commerce world. Thoughts arising from the
analysis of the French and Spanish regulations. IusLabor, (3).

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Appendix
Questions
 Are you feeling satisfied and engaged in your workplace?
 What are the key challenges you are facing?
 Are you getting the supports from the management?
 Are you offered the training and development programs?
 What are the exact changes you think will be effective?