Sep 37 min read

Safety Culture Case Study: Amazon's Safety Culture Challenges

Aerial view of warehouse interior with rows and rows of shelving and products.

To illustrate the real-world implications of a poor safety culture, let's examine the widely reported issues at Amazon. Amazon's safety culture has been under scrutiny for years, with numerous reports highlighting concerns across various dimensions of safety culture. Although we have never deployed our safety culture survey and do not have any access to Amazon’s internal records, we can use media reporting to analyze their safety issues through the lens of FIC's Safety Culture Framework to demonstrate how our comprehensive safety culture framework could identify and address such problems.

Organizational Commitment

Issue: Amazon has faced criticism for prioritizing productivity and efficiency over worker safety. This suggests a misalignment between the company's operational goals and its commitment to safety.

Detailed Example: In 2021, multiple investigations revealed the impact of Amazon's "Time off Task" (TOT) policy, which tracks employee productivity down to the second. According to a report by The New York Times, workers were expected to handle 300-400 items per hour in some facilities. This intense pressure reportedly led to numerous issues:

Workers skipping bathroom breaks to avoid TOT penalties
Employees working through injuries to meet quotas
A culture of fear around taking time off for medical appointments

In one stark example, an employee at a warehouse in Eastvale, California, reportedly urinated in a trash can to avoid logging TOT and risking disciplinary action. The report also found that the injury rate at this facility was over twice the industry average.

These practices indicate a clear prioritization of productivity metrics over worker well-being, suggesting a fundamental issue with organizational commitment to safety.

Management and Communication

Issue: There have been reports of inadequate safety training, poor communication of safety protocols, and inconsistent implementation of safety measures across Amazon's facilities.

Detailed Example: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon's communication and implementation of safety measures were reportedly inconsistent and often unclear. A study by the Strategic Organizing Center in 2022 found:

Only 42% of surveyed workers reported receiving written materials about COVID safety protocols
33% of workers said they were not informed when coworkers tested positive for COVID-19
Implementation of safety measures varied widely between facilities, with some warehouses providing minimal protective equipment while others had more comprehensive measures

In one specific case, workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, New York, filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 2020. They alleged that Amazon failed to notify workers about COVID-19 cases in the facility and did not adequately clean workspaces after known exposures.

These examples highlight significant gaps in Amazon's safety communication and management practices, potentially leaving workers vulnerable to health risks.

Practices and Performance

Issue: Amazon's heavy reliance on automation and algorithmic management has been linked to increased injury rates and safety risks. The company's practices often prioritize speed and efficiency at the expense of worker safety.

Detailed Example: A 2020 investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting revealed alarming statistics about injury rates in Amazon's robotic warehouses:

Facilities with robotic systems had 50% higher injury rates than those without
In 2019, the serious injury rate at Amazon warehouses was more than twice the national average for the warehousing industry
At one facility in DuPont, Washington, the rate of serious injuries was nearly four times the industry average

The investigation found that the robotic systems, while increasing efficiency, also ramped up the pace of work to unsustainable levels. Workers reported having to perform repetitive motions at high speeds for extended periods, leading to a range of musculoskeletal disorders.

In another example, Amazon's use of handheld scanners to track worker movements has been linked to repetitive strain injuries. A worker at a facility in Robbinsville, New Jersey, reported developing carpal tunnel syndrome after scanning thousands of items per day, highlighting how Amazon's practices can directly impact worker health and safety.

Individual Understanding and Adherence

Issue: High turnover rates and the use of temporary workers in Amazon warehouses can lead to a workforce less familiar with safety protocols and less invested in long-term safety culture. Additionally, the pressure to meet quotas often leads workers to prioritize speed over safety procedures.

Detailed Example: Amazon's workforce strategy, particularly during peak seasons, has raised concerns about safety knowledge and adherence:

Documents showed that Amazon had 150% annual employee turnover at their warehouses.

During the holiday season, Amazon hires tens of thousands of temporary workers, many of whom receive minimal training.

The pressure to meet demanding productivity quotas can impact individual adherence to safety protocols. For instance, the investigation by The New York Times in 2021 revealed that workers felt compelled to prioritize speed over safety:

Employees reported skipping bathroom breaks to avoid logging "Time off Task" (TOT) and risking disciplinary action.

Some workers continued to work through injuries to meet quotas.

In one case, an employee at a warehouse in Eastvale, California, reportedly urinated in a trash can to avoid logging TOT, highlighting the extreme measures some workers felt necessary to meet productivity expectations.

In a tragic case, a temporary worker at an Amazon facility in Avenel, New Jersey, suffered fatal injuries after just a few weeks on the job. The worker was caught in between a conveyor system and crushed trying to clear a jam while performing sorting operations with demanding productivity quotas.

These examples illustrate how high turnover rates, combined with intense productivity pressure and inadequate training, can create a workforce that may not fully understand or adhere to safety protocols, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries.

How FIC's Safety Culture Survey Could Help Amazon

FIC's Safety Culture Survey offers a comprehensive, data-driven approach to assessing and improving safety culture. Here's a detailed look at how this survey could address Amazon's specific challenges.

Comprehensive Assessment

Our survey would provide Amazon with a holistic view of its safety culture across all levels of the organization.

Example: The survey could be administered to employees from various roles (warehouse workers, drivers, managers, executives) and locations (different types of facilities across regions).

Benefit: This would reveal whether safety perceptions differ between frontline workers and management, or between different facilities.

Identify Disconnects

By gathering data at organizational, facility, and department levels, our survey could uncover disconnects between corporate safety policies and on-the-ground realities.

Example: The survey might reveal that while corporate policy mandates regular safety training, employees in certain facilities report inadequate or infrequent training sessions.

Benefit: Amazon could use this information to improve safety practices across all facilities, especially those with the lowest scores, and ensure that corporate policies are consistently and effectively implemented at all levels.

Employee Voice

The inclusion of open-ended questions would give Amazon workers a confidential channel to express safety concerns and improvement ideas.

Example: Workers might use this opportunity to suggest specific improvements to workstation ergonomics or to report safety hazards that have been overlooked.

Benefit: This could help Amazon identify potential safety issues before they lead to injuries, while fostering a sense of employee engagement in safety matters.

Targeted Improvement

Quantitative analysis aligned with our Safety Culture Framework would allow Amazon to identify specific areas for improvement.

Example: The survey might reveal that while employees understand safety procedures (high scores in Individual Understanding), they feel pressured to bypass these procedures to meet productivity targets (low scores in Organizational Commitment).

Benefit: Amazon could use this insight to realign its performance metrics to better balance productivity with safety considerations.

Benchmark Progress

Regular administration of the survey would enable Amazon to track its safety culture improvements over time and across different facilities.

Example: Amazon could conduct the survey annually and compare results year-over-year, as well as between different types of facilities (e.g., sorting centers vs. fulfillment centers).

Benefit: This would allow Amazon to measure the impact of safety initiatives, identify best practices in high-performing facilities, and focus resources where improvement is most needed.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

Insights from the survey would inform strategic decisions about safety initiatives, resource allocation, and policy changes.

Example: If the survey reveals that employees in facilities with robotic systems report higher stress levels and more safety concerns, Amazon could use this data to reevaluate and potentially modify its automation strategies.

Benefit: This approach would allow Amazon to make evidence-based decisions about safety investments, potentially leading to more effective use of resources and better outcomes.

Cultural Insights

The survey could provide insights into the underlying cultural factors influencing safety behaviors.

Example: It might reveal that in some facilities, there's a culture of prioritizing speed over safety, even if it's not explicitly mandated by management.

Benefit: Understanding these cultural nuances would allow Amazon to address root causes of safety issues, rather than just symptoms.

Communication Effectiveness

The survey could assess the effectiveness of Amazon's safety communication strategies.

Example: It might show that while safety information is disseminated regularly, employees don’t take the time to review the information or find it difficult to understand or apply in their daily work.

Benefit: This could lead to improvements in how safety information is communicated, ensuring that important safety messages are not just delivered, but understood and acted upon.

Leadership Impact Assessment

The survey could evaluate how leadership behaviors at various levels impact the overall safety culture.

Example: It might reveal that mid-level managers, under pressure to meet productivity targets, are not consistently reinforcing safety messages from top leadership.

Benefit: This insight could lead to targeted leadership development programs focused on balancing productivity and safety priorities.

Incident Reporting Culture

The survey could clarify employees' comfort level with reporting safety incidents or near-misses.

Example: It might uncover that employees fear retribution or negative performance evaluations if they report safety concerns.

Benefit: Amazon could use this information to implement changes that encourage open reporting, such as anonymous reporting systems or positive reinforcement for identifying safety issues.

By deploying FIC's Safety Culture Survey, Amazon could gain deep, actionable insights into its safety culture. This data-driven approach would enable the company to make targeted improvements, potentially transforming its safety culture from a point of criticism to a competitive advantage. Moreover, the regular application of such a survey would demonstrate Amazon's commitment to continuous improvement in worker safety, which could positively impact employee morale, public perception, and ultimately, the company's bottom line.