Amazon has become one of the most valuable companies in the world. Its once revolutionary online shopping and delivery system is close to surpassing the sales from brick and mortar stores. Amazon is able to fulfill customers’ orders in a matter of 24 to 48 hours in many cases. One of the reasons why it is so efficient is that the company has a network of warehouses scattered all over the world. Sadly, it appears that workplace injuries at Amazon warehouses are a serious problem.
Amazon is owned by the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos. He recently launched an ad campaign to push back against some of the recent revelations regarding embarrassing working conditions at Amazon warehouses. The ad campaign was designed to show happy staff members to counter the images produced by these allegations; however, there are still question marks regarding working conditions at Amazon warehouses. Concerns regarding working conditions at Amazon have been coming from all over the world. There are even concerns related to people losing consciousness due to injury at Amazon warehouses.
This has sparked concerns related to work injuries and workers’ compensation. According to jasondmills.com, “Some of the most common workplace incidents seen by our workers’ comp lawyers include lifting injuries, slip and fall accidents, falls from heights, and amputations.” Some of Amazon’s workers might suffer these injuries in its warehouses.
A report was published back in 2015 that stated that the cause of workplace injuries at Amazon warehouses might be due to a lack of concentration. Employees in Amazon warehouses are commonly asked to work long hours. These long hours can lead to fatigue, leading to a lack of concentration. Because many of Amazon’s employees are asked to operate heavy equipment, such as forklifts, they need to be able to focus on their jobs. Internal emails have indicated that many Amazon employees are worried about voicing concerns related to working conditions due to concerns that they might be fired. This type of fear is appalling and should never prevent workers from voicing their concerns about their own health and safety.
It remains to be seen if any changes are going to take place regarding the work conditions at Amazon warehouses. Nobody should ever have to worry about getting fired for advocating for their own health and safety. Certainly, something needs to change when it comes to working conditions at Amazon warehouses. If something is done to reduce the long hours that Amazon employees are forced to work, the rate of injuries may drop.
