Amazon "ZenBooth" is the company's dystopian solution for whenever its warehouse employees find themselves struggling to keep their sanity with workloads so grueling that they might not have time to use the bathroom. Introducing the meditation box or "ZenBooth'' or ''Mindful Practice Room."
Amazon ZenBooth 'Mindful Practice Room'
The ZenBooth or the Mindful Practice Room, as Amazon calls it, is part of the company's most recently launched WorkWell program. The program is officially aimed at providing its very own notoriously overworked employees including mental and physical activities, wellness exercises, and even healthy eating support which is meant to help reenergize and recharge the employees, according to Business Insider.
In what the story by Gizmodo suggests to be "tiny capitalism panic rooms" or rather "individual interactive kiosks," employees will be able to watch guided meditation videos, calming scenes, positive affirmations complete with sounds and more. In a Twitter video that was deleted about the Amazon kiosks that was released on Wednesday, a particular coffin-size box is now shown smack dab in the middle of one of its official warehouses.
Amazon Workers Work 10-Hour 'Megacycle' Shifts
Inside the box is reportedly a small desk along with a single monitor, just a few shelves with plants, and even a small fan, along with a skylight which is meant to imitate a bright, blue sky in case the employees would forget what it looks like during their pretty exhausting 10-hour "megacycle" types of shifts. Leila Brown, an Amazon worker, who reportedly helped create the ZenBooth as part of the company's WorkingWell mental health initiative, AmaZen, said in the video that she actually wanted to create a certain space that is quiet and where people could eventually focus on their own mental and emotional well-being.
Leila Brown adds that the kiosks are actually meant to help the Amazon workers "recharge the internal battery." Amazon has not yet directly given a response to Gizmodo's request for comment regarding how many of the new ZenBooths have already been installed or why they even decided to take down the tweet.
Amazon Invests $300 Million
In the official Amazon press release, the company outlined its plans to invest a whopping $300 million and put it into safety projects this 2021 in order to hopefully cut its official rate of workplace incidents by 50% this coming 2025. Amazon is known to have a horrific track record when it comes to the working conditions that its workers experience within its workhouses.
One particular study found that Amazon had recorded 14,000 serious injuries within the Amazon warehouses back in 2019. The numbers would eventually work out to about 7.7 serious injuries every 100 employees which is said to be three times the official national average for this particular line of work, according to the BLS. The Amazon ZenBooth is currently the company's attempt to help reduce stress and possibly the numbers of injuries.
Related Article: Amazon to Increase Worker's Hourly Pay by $0.50 to $3--Following the $15-Per Hour Minimum Raise?
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Written by Urian B.