Working at high-profile tech giants is often seen as a ticket to success and growth But certain anecdotes come into the limelight that tell that the reality is farfetched from the dream.
What recently has been shared by a former Amazon engineer, about the relentless work culture at one of the biggest companies in the world is “horrible”. But what came as a surprise was that despite the gruesome conditions, his admiration for the founder remained intact on what it takes to lead one of the world’s most influential companies.
Steve Yegge, who joined Amazon in 1998 as a technical program manager, recently spoke to Business Insider about his time at the company. He recalled the relentless work culture, saying that employees avoided taking leaves due to immense pressure. “I joined Amazon in 1998 as a technical program manager,” Yegge told Business Insider, adding, “I worked my way up and eventually found myself working on a secret project for Jeff Bezos himself.”
Despite his criticism of Amazon’s work environment, Yegge admitted that he never boycotted the company and still shops there. More importantly, he had only good things to say about Bezos. “He was a hands-on leader with an unmistakable magnetism to him, but he didn’t seem to care about anything other than his mission. Despite the fact that I disagreed with the company’s practices, Bezos himself was difficult to dislike. It is hard not to like a person who’s that smart,” he said.

Unlike many high-profile CEOs, Bezos rarely lost his temper, according to Yegge. “I’ve worked under other CEOs, and they didn’t typically pull senior employees together for impromptu chats, but Jeff would do this quite often. He’d reset us and change how everyone in the company thought about things,” he said. Yegge added, “He challenged people every day, but I never saw him get mad or swear in my almost seven years there. He had this electric presence, a magnetism to him that was unmistakable.”
Yegge described Amazon as a “horrible” place to work, but he also acknowledged that he remains a customer despite disagreeing with some of its practices. “From what I can tell, Jeff is a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil kind of person who was focused on the mission. It didn’t matter if the toilet was dirty or if engineers were being paged all night long,” he said. According to Yegge, Bezos seemed to only care if it started “slowing him down.” He added, “Maybe that’s the kind of leader you have to be. Successful leaders don’t take no for an answer.”