Amazon launches WorkingWell employee health and safety program across U.S. operations
The initiative is part of a $300 million push to cut recordable incident rates in half by 2025
Amazon continues its push into the health and wellness space with the launch of WorkingWell.
The new program provides employees of the online retailing giant with physical and mental activities, wellness exercises, and healthy eating support that the company says are scientifically proven to reenergize and reduce risk of injury. WorkingWell is part of Amazon’s $300 million investment into safety projects this year as part of its mission to be “Earth’s safest place to work” — a play on “Earth’s biggest bookstore,” an early Amazon slogan.
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According to the company, aspects of WorkingWell were piloted in the United States in 2019, and the program has since expanded to 859,000 employees at 350 sites in North America and Europe. By the end of 2021, plans call for WorkingWell to cover all of Amazon’s operations network in the U.S., with the aim of reducing recordable incident rates by 50% by 2025.
CNBC.com claims WorkingWell “could be the largest experiment in workplace safety culture ever undertaken,” and notes that “Amazon is adding workers at a furious pace” — including 75,000 workers in its latest hiring push.
‘We can learn from their implementation’
About 40% of work-related injuries at Amazon are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) that include sprains or strains caused by repetitive motions, according to the company. WorkingWell pilots have reduced these injuries, Amazon adds. The company claims the program — along with other company initiatives focused on early MSD prevention — helped decrease MSD-related injuries by 32 percent from 2019 to 2020.
“I am not aware of any company with this many workers doing this kind of work all at once,” Deborah Roy, president of the American Society of Safety Professionals and former head of health, safety, and wellness at L.L. Bean, told CNBC.com. “Just because of sheer numbers, if they do a good job collecting data and doing comparisons in a more controlled way, there is a good possibility we can learn from their implementation. … But we need to see the published data.”
WorkingWell contains several components, including:
- Health & Safety Huddles: Daily opportunities to engage employees on strong body mechanics, wellness topics, and ongoing safety education.
- Wellness Zones: Dedicated and easily accessible spaces within Amazon’s operations buildings for voluntary stretching and muscle recovery. AmaZen: Individual interactive kiosks at company buildings that guide employees through mindfulness practices.
- Wellness Centers: Amazon-staffed spaces dedicated to preventing injuries and illness through preventive self-care, and health and safety education, plus first-aid treatment in case of injury.
- EatWell: Developed to support the overall nutritional health and wellbeing of employees by promoting healthy eating and increasing availability of healthier options.
- Neighborhood Health Centers: Offering Amazon employees and their families affordable healthcare within 10 miles of where they work and live, in partnership with Crossover Health.
- Mind & Body Moments: Hourly prompts employees receive at their workstations to guide them through a series of physical and mental activities.
- Connect & Comment Kiosks: Gather employee feedback to help drive improvements to current WorkingWell components and development of future offerings.
- WorkingWell Mobile App: Provides at-home access to all onsite safety, health, and wellness offerings within Amazon buildings.
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