The most tiring job I ever had was working behind bar all day on your feet, impatient customers - but at least I didn’t have to move very far. So I came away from this week’s Panorama (Amazon: The Truth Behind the Click, 8.30pm, BBC1, 25 November) feeling pretty darn grateful.

Undercover filming followed one young ‘picker’ as he raced against time through Amazon’s 800,000 sq ft Swansea warehouse, collecting items at a required rate of two per minute. With the incessant bleeping of his hand scanner, and the sinister night-time gantries that occasionally plunged him into darkness because the lights didn’t work, it was like a particularly brutal dash through the industrial zone of The Crystal Maze.

Our picker walked 11 miles on a typical night shift - but still couldn’t meet Amazon’s exacting targets: “You can do it if you’re basically running.” Health experts were wheeled on to tell us that working under this sort of pressure wasn’t really good for us, while former employees testified to the harsh regime - including a three-points-and-you’re-out sickness leave system. Needless to say, Amazon UK was quick to refute suggestions it compromised employee health and safety.

How shocking you think it is depends on how much you’ve ever thought about Amazon’s business model. I never expected working in an Amazon DC to be a laugh, but the robotic demands placed on night workers (£8.25 an hour, by the way) left a sour taste. I’ll be sparing an extra thought for the unsung army of pickers this Christmas.