Mum's the word at Knottingley's Amazon

Shazia Bibi, who works in returns and operations at the Amazon sort centre, is celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend with one of her colleagues, who is also her daughter.

Shazia, who joined the Knottingley team in May 2021, is one of dozens of mothers working at Amazon across the UK who work alongside their children.

And this year, the mother and daughter team have spoken about how their family bond ties them together both inside and outside work.

Shazia works alongside her daughter Maariyah,who has been with Amazon for eight months.

Before joining the team, Shazia worked as a driver for a third-party delivery service provider out of the Amazon delivery station in Leeds, while her daughter Maariyah worked as a care assistant.

Today, they’re enjoying working together at Amazon in Knottingley.

Shazia said: “We work together in the same part of the building and it’s great because if Maariyah needs anything, she can just ask me. People always ask us if we’re sisters and that’s because we’re like best friends - we’re always together. I really enjoy working with Maariyah, it’s brilliant.”

Maariyah echoes her mum’s thoughts when it comes to working together.

“I love working with my mum," she said. "She’s the first person I see in the morning when I wake up at home, and then we go to work together. Working with her makes me feel so comfortable.”

Maariyah is grateful to her mum for everything that she does for her, both at home and at Amazon.

She said: “Everything I’ve ever had is because of my mum. She’s been so supportive of me my whole life, and I know she’s always there for me and I am able to talk to her about anything.”

For any family members who work together, or are thinking about working together, Shazia has some advice. “Treat everyone the same, even if you’re family. Always be respectful and professional and everything will work out just fine.”

Shazia and Maariyah work together to process packages for customers in Knottingley and across the UK, but what’s the one thing Shazia always delivers for Maariyah?

“Good advice,” she said. “In our culture, a lot of kids are scared to go to their parents with problems, but I can go to my mum about anything and everything. She’s my best friend as well as my mum.”

A family feeling is something that encapsulates not just Shazia and Maariyah, but the whole team at Amazon in Knottingley.

Maariyah said: “The team here is brilliant and that’s what makes it such a great place to work. In any job, if it’s easy or hard, it will be so much easier with a great team and supportive managers and that’s what we have here at Amazon. It makes you enjoy work every single day.”

Maariyah has also revealed some of her plans for Shazia this Mother's Day.

She said: “The day before Mother’s Day is my birthday! I think we will combine the celebrations and go for a meal together.”

Amazon Knottingley Senior Operations Manager, Jack Docherty, added: “Shazia is a much-loved member of our team and it’s great that she gets to work alongside her daughter. I hope Maariyah has some special plans for Mother’s Day and Shazia enjoys her day.”