According to a recent Fortune article, more than two-thirds of Amazon’s US warehouse workers surveyed say that they took unpaid time off to recover from job-related pain or exhaustion. A recently published study by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for Urban Economic Development found that 69% of workers surveyed stayed home without pay to recover, and 34% did so three or more times. The report is based on a 98-question online survey of 1,484 warehouse workers in 451 facilities across 42 states.
Amazon’s Maureen Lynch Vogel said the report was “not a ‘study’ but a survey on social media, by groups with an ulterior motive.”
Amazon employs approximately 29% of the country’s warehousing workers. Workplace safety regulators point to a direct connection between employee monitoring and discipline and musculoskeletal disorders suffered by its workers. OSHA has cited Amazon for exposing workers to ergonomic risks at several facilities nationwide.
41% of workers reported being injured while working at an Amazon warehouse, rising to 51% for people who have worked there for more than three years.
