My sister's friend worked in a Shein warehouse and told me something that changed my whole view

We were just hanging out and she mentioned she had to pack over 200 items an hour at her old job in a Shein warehouse in LA. She said the pay was so low she could barely afford her rent, and the managers would get mad if you slowed down. I always thought the low prices were just from smart business, but hearing that from someone who was there made it real. Has anyone else heard stories from people who worked in these places?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionafoster14d ago

So what happens when someone gets hurt trying to meet that quota? Like, if she saw someone slip or strain themselves from moving too fast, did they even have a way to report it without getting punished for falling behind?

wilson.olivia14d ago

Damn, that's rough but not surprising. Did your sister's friend mention if they tracked bathroom breaks or had any kind of safety issues in the warehouse? I've read a couple things about insane quotas leading to people skipping water breaks just to keep up.

young.ryan14d ago

Yeah, I used to brush off those stories as people just complaining about a tough job. But hearing it firsthand from someone who worked there, the bathroom break thing is real. They track your time off task down to the minute. She said people would get written up if it looked like they were away from their station too often. It creates this awful choice between your health and keeping your job. That's what changed my mind, hearing how the system forces those choices.