Editor’s take: Amazon has faced backlash in recent months for what some would described as workplace-related ethics issues. That makes the company an easy target to poke fun at, and despite how noble its intentions may be with AmaZen stations, that’s exactly what some on social media are doing.
Amazon is rolling out “individual interactive kiosks” at its facilities as part of a larger health and safety program called WorkingWell that was announced earlier this month.
As outlined in Amazon’s announcement, AmaZen is designed to guide employees through mindfulness practices while on the job. Employees can visit AmaZen stations and watch short videos featuring wellbeing activities, positive affirmations, calming scenes with sounds and guided meditations.
“Self-care is important, and AmaZen gives me an opportunity to take time for myself to just pause and regroup which helps me be better at work,” said Katie Miller, an employee at an Amazon fulfillment center in Ohio.
“When I take that time, I come back to work more focused, and it has a lasting effect on the rest of my day,” Miller added.
Amazon’s press release didn’t go into any more detail, but by studying a photo of the booth making the rounds on news sites, I was able to uncover a bit more information on it.
The kiosk appears to be from Zenbooth, a company that makes and sells a whole line of office-minded private space products. The model shown in the photo above looks to be a Zenbooth Solo, an “office phone booth” that retails for $3,795.
Zenbooth cites Uber, Grammarly, Pandora, Shopify and Dropbox among its list of “happy customers.” Notably, Amazon isn’t on that list.