Amazon launching new health and safety program for workers

Amazon is launching a new health and safety initiative aimed at reducing on-the-job incidents, the company announced Monday morning.

The e-commerce behemoth said the initiative, dubbed WorkingWell, will provide employees with physical and mental activities, wellness exercises and healthy eating support. Amazon said it is pouring more than $300 million into safety projects this year.

“Amazon takes our safety very seriously, and my managers have made it clear to me it’s more important than anything, even productivity and quality,” Jeffrey Ku, operations employee at an Amazon fulfillment center in Aurora, Colorado, said in a news release. “WorkingWell is an extension of that — it makes sure we’re taking care of our minds and bodies. It encourages us to make positive changes to how we work, and since I started watching the program’s health and safety videos, I’ve incorporated a stretching routine into my day.”

The Seattle-based company said it began piloting aspects of the WorkingWell program in 2019 and has since expanded to 859,000 employees at 350 sites in North America and Europe. Amazon said the new program aims to cut incident rates by 50 percent by 2025.

Common work-related injuries employees suffer while working are musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, which include sprains or strains caused by repetitive motions. Amazon said that about 40 percent of on-the-job injuries at the company are MSDs and are more likely to occur with newer employees, many of whom might be working in a physical role for the first time.

According to Amazon, the WorkingWell pilots showed great success in reducing MSD injuries and have led to a positive impact on employees’ day-t0-day activities.

“In fact, this program — along with other company initiatives focused on early MSD prevention — helped decrease MSD-related injuries by 32 percent from 2019 to 2020,” the company noted.

Amazon said it provides dedicated spaces within its operations buildings that allow employees to practice voluntary stretching and muscle recovery. The retail giant also has its AmaZen programming, which guides employees through mindfulness practices in individual interactive kiosks within the buildings.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Jonathan Ng at [email protected]. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.