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Amazon's focus on speed, surveillance drives higher warehouse worker injuries, study finds [1]

['Annie Palmer', 'In Annierpalmer']

Date: 2023-10-25

An employee looks for items in one of the corridors at an Amazon warehouse.

Amazon warehouse workers are suffering physical injuries and mental stress on the job as a result of the company's extreme focus on speed and pervasive surveillance, according to a new study.

The study, released Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago's Center for Urban Economic Development, includes responses from 1,484 current Amazon workers across 42 states and 451 facilities, in what the authors are calling the largest nationwide survey of Amazon workers to date.

Nearly 70% of Amazon employees who participated in the survey said they've had to take unpaid time off due to pain or exhaustion suffered on the job in the past month, while 34% have had to do so three or more times. The most common injury reported by workers was sprains, strains or tears, and nearly half of respondents said they had moderate or severe pain in the leg, knee or foot in the last three months on the job. More than half of workers said they're burned out from their work at the company, and that response rate intensified the longer the employee had worked at Amazon.

The data adds to a drumbeat of scrutiny around Amazon's workplace safety and treatment of warehouse employees. Regulators, lawmakers, rights groups and employees have criticized Amazon — which is the second-largest employer in the U.S., behind Walmart — over its labor record. The researchers estimate Amazon is the largest warehouse employer in the country, accounting for an estimated 29% of workers in the industry.

Amazon had roughly 1.46 million employees globally, as of the quarter ended June 30, and the majority are warehouse and delivery workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating conditions at several warehouses, while the U.S. Department of Justice is examining whether Amazon underreports injuries. In June, a Senate committee led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also launched a probe into Amazon's warehouse safety.

Amazon has said it has made progress on lowering injury rates and that the company has made adjustments to working environments in order to reduce strain and repetitive movements. It has begun to automate some tasks and is also rolling out more robotic systems in warehouse facilities that the company claims can improve safety, although that prospect has been debated.

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[1] Url: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/25/study-amazons-focus-on-speed-surveillance-drives-worker-injuries.html

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