Amazon employees enjoy ‘Bring Your Parents to Work Day'

Instead of the typical “bring your child to work day,” Amazon employees got to invite their moms and dads to take a look inside the tech world on Friday.

Amazon staff said about 5,000 parents attended. KIRO 7 met parents from as near as Mukilteo, and as far as India.

Ameya Rahane, a software developer for Amazon Fire TV, said, “This is actually very unusual, and I wasn’t sure why we’re having this day. But it turns out it’s fun.”

His family happened to be in Seattle from India, and his mom told KIRO 7 she was most impressed with seeing developments with Amazon PrimeAir, a drone delivery service still in research and development.

Parents could visit their children’s workplace and also ask questions at different booths in an exhibit hall, where various Amazon initiatives were showcased.

“A lot of the people on my team are actually around my age, so I would say it’s probably only 30 to 70 percent, where only 30 percent have kids,” said Chelsea Lueth, who works for Amazon HR services.

In 2016, a company called PayScale reported that the median age of the Amazon workforce is 30.

That’s why it may make sense for many employees to have a “bring your parent to work day,” to show other family members what it is they do.

“The inside joke was that maybe would clean up their desks a little bit, because mom and dad were coming to work,” said Ardine Williams, the vice president for talent acquisition for Amazon Web Services.

Williams is proof that the event was not just a moment for millennials and their parents. Williams brought her husband and parents, too.

“I had retired. And this gives me an opportunity for my parents to see what it is that compelled me to continue to work,” she said. “The workplace has changed, and to see what it’s like to work in tech now – I think it’s very important, because it puts reality around what they hear.”

Cox Media Group