So, here’s something I never thought would be the highlight of my time at Amazon — elevators. Yeah, you heard that right, elevators!
I just hit the two-month mark here, and I’ve always heard that when you join a new place, you should take note of everything — what’s good, what’s not — because eventually, you’ll just get used to it. So I’ve been on the lookout for inspiration, and oddly enough, it came from a place I would have never expected.
Let me paint the picture — Amazon’s Seattle offices are massive, some spanning 30 to 40 floors, and I’m lucky enough to work in one of those buildings. The elevators here are fast, but what really stands out is that the insides are covered with whiteboards and markers. In just the 10-20 seconds it takes to ride between floors, people leave all kinds of messages and drawings. Some are hilarious, others are deep truths, and a few are so well-done you wonder how someone could whip them up so quickly.
While the whole world was getting fired up about remote work vs. RTO debates, I was just enjoying a funny little diagram someone sketched in the elevator:
Choose 1: sell house | 25% pay cut + commute | 25% fewer working hours | leave. All arrows pointing down to: NO RTO! (and someone added “yes please?” in red)
I don’t know what the situation will be, but I look forward to catching a glimpse of this creativity every time I step into those elevators. Sometimes, those funny little things totally make my day.