An employee searches for products in one of the hallways of an Amazon warehouse.
Carlos Yasso | Reuters
Amazon A new study shows warehouse workers are suffering physical injuries and mental stress on the job as a result of the company’s focus on speed and intense surveillance.
The study, released Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development, included responses from 1,484 current Amazon employees across 42 states and 451 facilities, and the authors surveyed Amazon employees. It is being called the largest national survey to date.
Nearly 70% of Amazon employees surveyed have had to take unpaid time off due to pain or fatigue at work in the past month, and 34% have had to do so three or more times. The answer was that it had to be done. The most common injuries reported by workers were sprains, strains, and tears, and nearly half of respondents said they had moderate or severe pain in their legs, knees, or feet in the past three months while on the job. . More than half of employees said they were exhausted by their jobs at the company, and the response rate was stronger the longer employees worked at Amazon.
The data adds to the growing scrutiny of Amazon’s workplace safety and treatment of warehouse workers. Regulators, lawmakers, rights groups and employees have criticized Amazon, the second-largest employer in the United States after Amazon. walmart — Regarding that labor record. Researchers estimate that Amazon is the nation’s largest warehouse employer, accounting for an estimated 29% of the industry’s employees.
Amazon has approximately 1.46 million employees worldwide. As of the quarter ended June 30ththe majority are warehouse and delivery personnel.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice are investigating conditions at multiple warehouses, and the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Amazon is underreporting injuries. In June, a Senate committee led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also launched an investigation into the safety of Amazon’s warehouses.
Amazon said it has made progress in reducing injury rates and has made adjustments to its work environment to reduce strain and repetitive motions. The company has begun automating some tasks and is introducing robotic systems at its warehouse facilities that it says can improve safety. Outlook is under discussion.
Approximately 64% of employees surveyed said they felt employee safety was a top priority at Amazon, but among employees who reported a negative impact on their physical health from work, The emotion was lower.
An employee fulfills an order at an Amazon fulfillment center during Prime Day on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in Melville, New York, USA.
Johnny Milano | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Speed and the role of monitoring
Safety critics have increasingly focused on Amazon’s high work speed and close monitoring of employee productivity as factors contributing to the increased risk of injury.
The findings drive home that point: Those who reported work-related injuries while working at Amazon were more likely to say it was harder to keep their jobs than non-injured workers. There was found.
According to the survey, approximately 44% of workers surveyed said they were unable to take breaks when they needed to. “An important mechanism for workers to maintain a fast pace of work without injury is the ability to take breaks and recover from periods of intense work,” the researchers said.
Employees cited “technology-enabled workplace surveillance” as enhancing the pace of work, but 53% of respondents said they always or most of the time were “monitored while working at the company.” I feel like I’m being held back.”
“Our data show clear evidence that work intensity and monitoring have negative health effects,” the researchers said.
Researchers say Amazon uses a variety of metrics to measure warehouse workers’ on-the-job activity. task time. Measures the average time between scans by a barcode scanner. Idle time, or “task vacation.” This measures the amount of time employees are not scanning items during their shift.
Workers argue that vacation task rules make working conditions even harsher and are used as a tool to monitor workers.Amazon in 2021 Adjusted time-off task policy to average data over time.
clock: Amazon worker safety risks come under fire from regulators and Justice Department
