Amazon aims to improve the morale of its fulfillment center workers and reduce injuries by setting up so-called “ZenBooths” on the FC floor - interactive kiosks that are positioned as “mindful practice rooms,” according to sources for a recent story on the practice by the New York Post.
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An Amazon FC worker had leaked a screenshot to the Post of a meditation and wellness guide from the company that encourages workers to “close your eyes and think about something that makes you happy.”
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The screenshot shows a timer at the top right corner of the screen, saying “Repeat until timer ends” and showing 10 seconds.
Employees can choose from several guided meditations and mindfulness-based exercises, according the Post’s sources.
Amazon in recent years has come under much criticism from worker right for alleged conditions and practices at the FCs, where some workers have reported that they were forced to urinate in bottles and forgo bathroom breaks because of the breakneck pace and the productivity demands of the job, according to the Post.
Amazon has repeatedly denied using such practices.
One worker told a web site named 404 Media that “It honestly felt like a slap in the face. It’s the sort of disconnected corporate platitude that is so obviously out of touch with reality.”
The screenshot shows a guide to a practice called “savoring,” which is part of a wellness and meditation regimen that Amazon rolled out in 2021 titled “Working Well,” which was designed to cut down on workplace injuries by improving employees’ state of mind.
The program, also dubbed “AmaZen,” features “physical and mental activities, wellness exercises, and healthy eating support” which are “scientifically proven to help them recharge and reenergize.”
“Working Well” includes a special meditation and mindfulness-based section, which the company said “guides employees through mindfulness practices in individual interactive kiosks at buildings.
During their shifts, FC employees can visit AmaZen stations and watch short videos featuring easy-to-follow well-being activities, including guided meditations, positive affirmations, calming scenes with sounds, and more.
But just how much time is allowed and when FC workers can access the ZenBooths is not clear from the Post story.
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 The Leila Brown, an Amazon worker who helped create the ZenBooth as part of the “WorkingWell” program, said in a video that her goal was to “create a space that’s quiet” where “people could go and focus on their mental and emotional well-being.”
Workers who go into the booth sit down near a computer screen and have the option of choosing several mindfulness-based exercises that include guided meditations and calming sounds.
The booths are equipped with a fan, potted plants and a ceiling painted to look like a blue sky.
However, the Post reports that Amazon deleted a promotional video announcing the rollout of the booths after it elicited scathing reaction on social media, with critics noting that Amazon has been accused of subjecting employees to poor workplace conditions and heavy workloads.
Amazon said employees also will receive hourly prompts at their work stations “guiding them through a series of scientifically proven physical and mental activities to help recharge and reenergize, and ultimately reduce the risk of injury.”
The Post has sought comment from Amazon on all this, but no response as yet, the paper says.
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