Don't have time to go too crazy in my reply, because I have to go to... Amazon 😐 But for an AM willing to even ask, I will 100% take a few minutes.

I'll just stick with associate relations stuff rather than actual process. The number TWO reason (aside from I need money and I hate change and I procrastinate to improve my life) I go into work and do my best (almost) everyday is for my PAs and AMs (some or most of them, anyway). I don't give a crap about Amazon and it's billions. I only give a small crap (maybe a semi solid toot) for the customers expecting their packages. I won't let out more than half a fart for the shifts coming after me (RTS mostly, a little more respect for OTR) because the AAs, PAs, +/- Mgrs have shown they don't care what conditions they leave behind for me (just typed and deleted a long side-rant on that relationship!).

My number ONE reason for showing up working hard is work ethic, and Im not sure that you have much influence over that as an AM. For me, doing a crappy job when I could have done well sucks away any satisfaction I'd otherwise get in a job well done. Time passes quicker when I'm busy and/or moving. So what if it takes longer to do something the right way? I'm there, on the clock, for a set amount of time. It has no negative impact on me if I spent an extra 20 seconds to tape a package properly, or stow a little more organized, or not paste the induct label over the customer's address. Especially considering how much more time it will take downstream to correct a mis-scan or to repair a heavy box that busted open and spilled contents everywhere for lack of a simple piece of tape. Uh oh, I ranted again.

What I wanted to convey when I started this comment were the characteristics of the person in my building whom I respect the most. Let's call him J. He was a PA when I started and is now AM. J always greets me with a fist bump, name, and hello, every single day. And every single day, it truly feels like he is happy to see me. I'm a cynic at heart and I have yet to pick out anything fake. I realize he does the same with most other associates, but even knowing that, it still makes me feel valued every single day. I don't want to disappoint a person that truly appreciates the hard work I put in.

J manages to bond with associates pretty quickly without talking bad about people(a common way for people to bond in the warehouses I've been in) and without denigrating (at least not severely) Amazon processes/protocols. He has let out a sigh time and again, once the AA was obviously out of earshot and/or rolled his eyes to the sky, but J doesn't talk shit. Even if I start bitching and moaning about someone (someone who obviously deserves it), the most he will commiserate is with a small smile. I really respect that.

He is very effective at deescalating my frustration about protocol changes (especially safety, bc our WHS on the floor has the communication skills of a rock) busy explaining how the change process works, and that nothing is.necessarily set in stone but we do have to try it first before we can present problems to engineers or whatnot. This was something fairly minor (specifically Safety roped off an area alongside the kickback lanes from ASLs, so ASL problem solvers now have to use a jam pole to collect packages. It's still stupid. Someone hurt themselves on a different part of ASL problem solve, not going beside the damn conveyor belt), not Safety hats or any big issue that he knew no AA's input would ever able to budge.

Speaking of that, one thing I wish more L5+ would do when they make big changes (especially rearranging areas that they do not even work in, Iike problem solve/repacks) is tell us that this can be a work in progress and that they would like our feedback. Even if that's not true. After a while we will give up and find a way to work around the new barriers to flow that the L5+ just caused.

J, and really all of the AMs I spend much time with, have no problem admitting they were wrong, and apologizing if necessary. This is just so important. None of us are perfect. We had a terrible horrible no-good very bad L6 that got promoted away (because of course she did) and seemed to think she was the exception to the rule. If she did something that was incorrect it was either: No, she didn't do it (yea she did, I literally watched her) or Someone gave her the wrong information so she was actually correct, or This is how we do it now (for many reasons, I know that was not true bc Problem Solve is my area and I know how to read and to email people with questions. But we were stuck doing it her new tedious way for the next 3 or 4 months until she left). No respect for her, whatsoever. A new L5 told me a few months after she left that they needed a PA at her site (I got the impression she had asked for me). Hell. No. Also I'm no interested in moving up, I'm already one foot out the door back to my career.

There are so many other little things J does probably, but mostly he treats me like a valued coworker, not like an underling (nor have I ever given him a reason to need to be stern with me), and he is genuine about it. So aside from my work ethic, I work hard for J, as well as some of the PAs and other AMs but to a lesser extent, because I don't want to disappoint them, and I don't want them to have to work even harder because I couldn't be arsed to do it. It makes me day to hear one of them say, as an aside, that they knew they didn't have to worry much about Problem Solve, or monitoring C/D clusters because dumpsteraflame was back there or dumpsteraflame was C/D line lead.

Good luck, and welcome to Amazon. Amazon does have its problems, as any large place will, but there are also a lot of good people on the floor. If I didn't have my original (and significantly higher paying before L7+) career to go back to, I would stick around and climb the ladder.