Atlantic Company :Since first launching in 1990, Atlantic Company (or "Atlantic," for short) has grown from a website that exclusively sold books to an online store where one can buy nearly anything. Shirley MacArthur (Atlantic's CEO) was on a mission to quickly expand the company from an initially small space in her garage to a wide-reaching marketplace, and she did just that. Atlantic now accounts for nearly half of online retail in the United States and is valued at close to $1 trillion. Despite this success, Atlantic has come under scrutiny for what some of its employees describe as poor working conditions. In 2018, when MacArthur was awarded the Avery Du Bois Award for social responsibility and business innovation, hundreds of Atlantic employees protested. Employee complaints include low pay, stress, and occupational hazards. In response to these claims, MacArthur has acknowledged that the work is difficult, but disputed the claims that Atlantic's culture is fundamentally flawed. Instead, she believes that employees will be motivated and thrive in this type of culture, while others will not. For example, many Atlantic employees echo this sentiment. They have described their work environment as full of intelligent people who are proud of their work. They believe Atlantic encourages innovation and provides opportunities for employees to grow in their careers. The following are two stories about Atlantic employees with the same position, but strikingly different work experiences. 

Employee #1:

Tamara has been working as a warehouse associate at Atlantic for about two months. She ended up leaving her previous job at an after-school program because Atlantic offered higher pay, promotion opportunities, and benefits. As a part of her interview, the managers at Atlantic warned that some find the work environment challenging and competitive. They reassured her, however, that she would be a good fit if she is a driven person looking for an opportunity to grow. Tamara prides herself on being a thorough and conscientious worker. She was excited to do something different from her previous jobs, which were mostly related to childcare. She is also motivated by the potential to advance in the company. In her letters of recommendation, current and previous co-workers and managers remarked that she is extremely diligent and driven to complete her job well. Although Tamara was used to working with young children in her last job, this new job requires a whole different level of physical activity. As a warehouse associate, she is primarily responsible for lifting and moving heavy boxes, building and wrapping pallets, unloading and loading trucks, scanning boxes, managing conveyor belts, and sorting packages that will ultimately be sent out for delivery. While the job didn't particularly excite Tamara, she felt prepared to do the job after a thorough training process with a very enthusiastic warehouse associate.

Although initially eager to be successful, Tamara is becoming discouraged after only two months on the job. She keeps thinking that maybe she should have just stayed at her previous job, even though she currently earns more working at Atlantic. Despite career advancement opportunities and benefits, Tamara wonders if the job simply isn't a good fit for her. Tamara also wonders if maybe her attitude is to blame. Sometimes, she can be in a bad mood at work, but usually, this is after something stressful has happened on the job.

She is starting to think most people would have a hard time at this job. Her main issue with this job is that it feels like the company wants its workers to simply be robots. For instance, Tamara is required to carry a barcode scanner for scanning boxes. However, it also functions as an employee's "digital manager," meaning that it tracks every task the worker does. She is given warnings when she spends too much time off-task. Tamara feels like being monitored in this way is entirely unreasonable. She receives alerts for private matters, like using the restroom too frequently, doing a task at a slightly slower pace, etc. Tamara has become disillusioned with these unrealistic expectations.

Even when she tries hard, there's no recognition of her efforts or good work. Instead, it feels like she's only recognized when the digital manager detects her doing something "wrong." Tamara wonders if there is even a point to putting effort into the job. As soon as she finishes a task, the scanner assigns a new one and then counts down the seconds she had left to complete the task. This process seems to never end, and Tamara has started to dread the beeping noise of the scanner. Sometimes when her supervisor walks by, and it beeps, he jokingly sings, "It's the final countdown!" But, after a while, this too gets on Tamara's nerves.

It's not just affecting her when she's at work, now it's becoming a problem outside of work.

Employee #2:

Carlos works in the same Atlantic fulfillment center as Tamara and has been there for three years. Although he initially started in the same warehouse associate position as Tamara, he quickly progressed and is now an operations manager. Previously, Carlos was enlisted in the U.S. Army and was deployed multiple times to Afghanistan. After transitioning from his time in the military, Carlos was looking for a challenging work environment that allowed him to collaborate and develop relationships with others.

The opportunity to be a part of a tight-knit community of veterans at Atlantic is one of his favorite parts of the job. He enjoys sharing stories of his military experiences with fellow veterans. Even though his work is quite different than his military job, he's been able to apply the skills he developed during that time to lead his team effectively. His day-to-day duties involve focusing on the safety of the warehouse associates, the quality of employee work, ensuring quality customer experience, and maintaining high productivity among his team. Although the job is extremely fast-paced, challenging, and at times uncertain, he is given the autonomy to be a creative problem-solver and take risks if necessary.

Carlos has also had the opportunity to be an Ambassador through the Champion Ambassador Program at Atlantic. This program pairs veteran employees at Atlantic with veteran students enrolled in universities near Atlantic workplaces. This program has enabled Carlos to help inspire veteran students to achieve their goals and meet their career aspirations. For example, Carlos has been mentoring a veteran student, Haven, for about four months. Carlos always looks forward to meeting with Haven and hearing about all of the great things she is accomplishing.

Carlos decided to apply to work at Atlantic because Carey, who he knew from the military, was already working there. Carey thought Carlos would be a good fit because he is a high achiever, has a strong sense of initiative, and exudes positive energy. Carlos has found that Atlantic is committed to extreme productivity and growth, which means long hours and very high standards for employees. It took Carlos some time to adjust to this environment, and he is still working on developing a work-life balance.

Questions

1. If you were Tamara, would you choose to stay at Atlantic or return to your previous job? Why?

2. What do you think explains the difference in motivation and job engagement that Carlos and Tamara experience working at the same company?

3. Is self-determination theory relevant for understanding Carlos' and Tamara's motivation? If so, how?

4. What impact does organizational justice have on Carlos and Tamara's level of job satisfaction and job performance?

5. What effect, if any, do you believe goal setting and goal communication have on Tamara's motivation? Could Tamara's manager make adjustments that would improve her motivation and job engagement? If so, what specifically?