Tech

Amazon is rolling out warehouse health-and-safety 'huddles' and 'AmaZen' mindfulness kiosks as part of a safety program

Jeff Bezos
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Amazon announced Monday it would fully roll out a safety program it's been piloting in warehouses since 2019. 

The company says the program, named "Working Well," would provide employees with "physical and mental activities, wellness exercises, and healthy eating support."

This would help staff  "recharge and reenergize, and ultimately reduce the risk of injury," it said.

Amazon said WorkingWell is part of the company's $300 million investment in safety for 2021, but did not detail exactly how much of the $300 million it would take up.

The program involves "health and safety huddles," which involve interactive videos on "strong body mechanics, wellness topics, and ongoing safety education," Amazon said.

It also described a program called "AmaZen," which uses on-site "interactive kiosks" to guide employees through mindfulness activities, such as "guided meditations, positive affirmations, [and] calming scenes with sounds."

Amazon will also provide dedicated "wellness zones" where employees can find information about stretching.

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Amazon said "aspects" of WorkingWell have been rolled out to 859,000 employees at 350 sites in North America and Europe, and that it would now roll out the program to its entire US operations network.

The e-commerce giant said it hoped the program would cut injury rates by 50% by 2025, though it did not go into detail about how it reached that figure.

Amazon has long come under fire for the injury rates inside its warehouses, and workers have previously told the press about exacting targets and quotas they are expected to hit. Company data leaked to Reveal in September last year showed injury rates in US Amazon warehouses climbed every year from 2016 to 2019.

Amazon's press release made no mention of reducing quotas, and did not mention whether workers would be given dedicated time in their workday to make use of the services that WorkingWell will provide.

Amazon did not immediately reply when contacted by Insider for comment.

Do you work in an Amazon FC which took part in the WorkingWell pilot? Contact this reporter at ihamilton@insider.com or iahamilton@protonmail.com.

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Isobel (she/her) was a senior tech reporter at Business Insider. She was particularly interested in Big Tech, privacy, and worker's rights. You can read some of her previous work here: The quest to find $181 million in bitcoin buried in a dump Exclusive: Amazon targeted military spouses in a pandemic recruitment drive. 2 of them say they ended up being paid 33% less than non-military coworkers. Exclusive: Amazon plans a pay cut of up to 23% for hourly workers who guide trucks in and out of its UK delivery stations Exclusive: Tesla's solar division asks employees to scour social media for complaints about both the company and Elon Musk, trying to get customers to delete their posts, former employees say A couple says their Tesla Solar panels caused relentless leaks that led to mold 10 times the healthy limit, $115,000 in damages, and a long-running legal battle Ghosted by Tesla: Customers say Tesla's ultrasleek, expensive Solar Roofs and panels come with nightmare customer service, often leaving them with unanswered calls and emails for months on end Amazon workers leading a historic push for unionization in Alabama describe midnight 'education' meetings, an unexpected mailbox, and streams of anti-union flyers as they go up against one of the world's most powerful companies 'It's a slap in the face': Amazon is handing out 'Thank you' t-shirts to warehouse workers as it cuts their hazard pay Investigation: Amazon warehouse employees speak out about the 'brutal' reality of working during the holidays, when 60-hour weeks are mandatory and ambulance calls are common The science behind Elon Musk's brain-chip company Neuralink Investigation: Instagram's new TV service recommended videos of potential child abuse