Amazon will be deploying small kiosks called ZenBooth in its warehouses to help overworked employees destress. The booths, which are about a standard phone booth size, are part of Amazon’s new WorkingWell program announced earlier in May. Invented by an employee named Leila Brown, the booths are equipped with plants, pamphlets, a fan, and a computer that can play employee-selected videos. Brown said that she “wanted to create a space that is quiet, that people could go and focus on their mental and emotional well-being.”
Zoom In: The move has come at a time when Amazon has come under fire for its above industry average employee quotas and workplace injuries. The company has also been heavily criticized for overworked 10-hour shifts and anti-union intimidation. Workers recently sued the company for failing to schedule legally required 30-minute breaks.
