Online Shopping Boom Comes With Rising Worker Injuries, GAO Finds

The growing speed at which we receive our online orders may come at a serious cost to workers’ bodies, according to the Government Accountability Office.

A new report from the congressional watchdog found that serious injury rates in warehousing and parcel delivery grew “significantly faster” than the rate across industries between 2018 and 2022. The authors defined a “serious injury” as one that resulted in time away from work or modified job duties.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest hazards these workers faced were musculoskeletal injuries and strains from overexertion and repetitive motions.

The GAO also said that employers’ real-time monitoring of workers’ productivity rates in warehouses and delivery vans might be a contributing factor. That is, companies may be pushing workers too hard with the threat of punishment or firing ― a finding that would not shock workers who’ve felt pressure to “make rate” as they pick, pack and ship items.

“Employers’ use of technology that increases productivity may harm workers through encouraging worker overexertion and unsafe movements,” the report states.

The GAO, which is an independent and nonpartisan agency that reports to Congress, carried out the report at the request of Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the ranking Democrat on the House committee covering labor issues.

Although the report did not name particular employers, its release on Tuesday coincided with Amazon Prime Day. Scott said in a statement that the findings show the workers “who keep the American economy moving” are getting hurt far too often.

“These are the kinds of serious injuries that can leave workers disabled and in chronic pain,” Scott said.

The GAO notes that work in the logistics industry has exploded amid