When you buy something on Amazon, do you think a lot about what happens next?

Yeah, but that's probably an occupational hazard.

Jay Green covers Amazon for The Washington Post.

You know, I mean, I do think about it because I've been to these warehouses and these

distribution centers, but I, you know, if you were to ask me if my neighbors thought about it,

I could almost guarantee you the answer is no.

When Jay clicks add to cart, he knows all too well the staggering logistical effort

it's going to take to deliver him whatever he's ordered, like magic. He knows about the software that figures out how his items are going to get boxed up and sent off. And he knows about the people who are going to do the boxing up on his behalf. Jay's seen them at work. What is it like inside one of these warehouses?

Oh, it's a hive of activity.

They're pretty big, right?

They're massive.

Yeah, and at any given moment, there are more than a thousand workers stowing items as they come into the warehouse,

picking them as people's orders come in, boxing them up, and putting them on trucks.

Jay also knows the workers in these hives are alarmingly efficient.

That's because Amazon's tracking every employee, minute by minute, using these handheld

computers workers have that compile their orders.

And that efficiency, it's called making rate. It's got a cost. If you don't hit your

rate, it can affect your ability to move up at the plant, at the warehouse. It can affect your pay

into some measure, at least, you know, how much you might get a raise or not. Honestly, one of the

complaints is honestly using the bathroom.

You know, a lot of workers will talk about how the bathrooms are far enough away that, you know,

heating the call of nature can actually eat into your productivity, and these workers are measured

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