How pressure at Amazon affects safety in the workplace

As a personal injury paralegal, I encounter a number of clients who are injured due to pressure of work.

When considering the word ‘pressure’ I am not referring to day to day pressures, such as dealing with an urgent task and then moving on to something that is more routine, I am talking about relentless pressure, the kind of pressure that raises the heart rate and causes mistakes.

This article from Tech Xplore discusses statistics released regarding accidents involving Amazon employees. Pressures in delivery targets have, allegedly, led to one in five drivers being injured whilst undertaking duties at work. This equates to 20% of the workforce.

When you consider the Health and Safety statistics, released by the HSE in 2021, showed a national average of 1.4% of employee workplace accidents, it is clear to see that Amazon may well have serious health and safety issues.

The article reports that a delivery driver in California is expected to make a delivery every minute or two. When you factor in driving between addresses and the time taken to engage with customers and/or place parcels at an alternative address or a safe place, it is easy to see how this is almost an impossibility.

Not only does it increase the chance of a workplace accident for the driver, it also puts other road users at risk if a driver is driving unsafely in an attempt to meet an unrealistic target.

It is not only delivery drivers who are at a higher risk of an accident. Workers in sorting centres are also under unrealistic pressures to pack and process packages for delivery.

Amazon’s response is that they are investing in more technology and new protocols to improve safety levels, but if unrealistic targets are in place nonetheless, it is easy to see how mistakes can happen and accidents are a consequence of this.

When drivers are reporting issues such as having to urinate in bottles, bushes and even coffee cups because they are not given enough time to take a break, it is clear that such a method of working cannot be maintained by an individual without any issues.

In the words of Eric Frumin of the Strategic Organizing Centre, drivers “make it crystal clear the source of the problem – it’s the production pressure…These are conditions the company imposes and the company can take away”.

Whilst there are debates in the UK about the mental health of workers and the possible benefits of a four day week, happier, less pressured workers are likely to work better and smarter.

There would also be less sick leave and fewer stress in the workplace claims, as well as a safer environment for workers and a safer scenario for road users as a whole.

Further reading

Accidents at Work – Oakwood Solicitors

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