Amazon Canada launches WorkingWell program across its Canadian operations to help prevent injuries, provide wellness and other services for employees while at work and at home

Program components will roll out to different Amazon operations sites in Canada by end of year as part of the company's aim of cutting recordable incident rates by 50 percent by 2025

SEATTLE, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, Amazon announced the launch of WorkingWell in Canada, a new comprehensive program providing employees with scientifically proven physical and mental activities, wellness exercises, and healthy eating support, designed to help them recharge, reenergize, and ultimately reduce the risk of injury. The program is part of the company's investment of more than $300 million USD into safety projects across North America in 2021, and its mission to be Earth's Safest Place to Work. There are a number of components of WorkingWell, each of which was developed in collaboration with employees from within Amazon operations. Aspects of WorkingWell piloted in the U.S. in 2019 and the program has since expanded to 859,000 employees at 350 select sites in North America and Europe. By the end of 2021, WorkingWell will expand further to cover all of Amazon's operations network in the U.S. and Canada, with the aim of cutting recordable incident rates by 50 percent by 2025.

"Launching WorkingWell across our operations is an important step forward in meeting our mission to become Earth's safest place to work," said Sumegha Kumar, Director of Canadian Customer Fulfillment Operations for Amazon Canada. "We have identified and implemented innovative health and safety technologies and approaches designed to address employee well-being in our facilities, and we're thrilled to continue this commitment to employee well-being and safety innovation through the WorkingWell program."

The launch of WorkingWell coincides with an important vaccination milestone: 14,000 Amazon employees and community members in Canada have received their vaccines through Amazon-partnered events.

The health and safety of employees is Amazon's number one priority and has been since day one. The company works closely with health and safety experts and scientists, conducts thousands of safety inspections each day in its buildings, and has made hundreds of changes as a result of employee feedback on improving well-being at work, including development of the WorkingWell program.

Similar to other jobs of this kind, about 40 per cent of work-related injuries at Amazon are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which include sprains or strains caused by repetitive motions, and they're more likely to occur among newer employees, many of whom might be working in a physical role for the first time. Pilots of the WorkingWell program have reduced these injuries, and have had a positive impact on regular day-to-day activities for employees outside of work. In fact, this program—along with other company initiatives focused on early MSD prevention—helped decrease MSD-related injuries by 32 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

WorkingWell is a comprehensive program with a number of components covering training and conditioning, wellness services, and technology, including the following:

Scientifically proven health and safety education and exercises

Health & Safety Huddles: Daily opportunities to engage employees on strong body mechanics, wellness topics, and ongoing safety education. Operations leaders and small groups of socially distanced employees gather near workstations and watch short interactive videos on rotating topics created by health and safety professionals, and injury prevention specialists. Topics rotate on a monthly basis and range from gripping and handling, pushing and pulling, nutrition, and more. In the last year during its pilot phase, Health & Safety Huddles contributed to reducing MSD-related injuries and received nearly 90 percent positive feedback from surveyed employees.

Wellness Zones: Provides employees with voluntary stretching and muscle recovery via easily accessible, dedicated spaces within Amazon's operations buildings. These areas incorporate interactive videos and written information to help employees proactively improve their health and wellness in areas like body mechanics, wellness topics like best practices in stretching, ongoing safety education, and more.

Comprehensive and critical health and wellness services

Wellness Centres: Amazon-staffed spaces dedicated to preventing injuries and illness through preventative self-care, health and safety education, as well as first-aid treatment in case of injury. First aid trained onsite medical representatives and certified athletic trainers called Injury Prevention Specialists bring diverse backgrounds to these Centres to deliver quality onsite safety and wellness care to operations employees.

EatWell: Developed to support the overall nutritional health and wellbeing of employees by promoting healthy eating and increasing the availability of healthier options. In onsite breakrooms, signage is displayed to highlight healthy choices such as fruit, granola bars, vegetable snack packs. Through this program, the company has also increased the section of healthier options available to employees. In its initial pilot, EatWell has increased awareness of healthy eating by 60 percent and has helped over 50 percent of surveyed employees make healthier choices.

Using technology to connect with employees in buildings, and at home

Mind & Body Moments: Hourly prompts employees receive at their workstations guiding them through a series of scientifically proven physical and mental activities to help recharge and reenergize, and ultimately reduce the risk of injury. These activities, designed to reduce muscle and mental fatigue, range from various stretching recommendations, breathing exercises, and mental reflections. Since piloting this program in select sites, employees have shared that these moments have improved their physical and mental wellbeing while at work. By the end of the year, Mind & Body Moments will evolve to more personalized prompts.

Connect & Comment Kiosks: Gathers employee feedback to help drive improvements to current WorkingWell components and ideate on future offerings. These kiosks also give employees an onsite location to access wellness services and content, connecting them with hundreds of pieces of content including health and safety training, wellness tips, information on Wellness Centres, and Mind & Body Moments.

WorkingWell was developed by employees who care deeply about their co-workers and are dedicated to promoting workplace health and safety. The WorkingWell team will continue to elicit feedback and ideas from employees, and use the science of safety to solve problems and establish new industry best practices in its relentless pursuit to support employees, and keep them healthy and safe every day.

To learn more from the employees who helped develop WorkingWell and its components, visit: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/meet-employees-behind-amazons-new-health-and-wellness-program.

To download b-roll video and high-resolution images of WorkingWell, visit: https://press.aboutamazon.com/images-videos.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

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SOURCE Amazon Canada

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