TikTok user @chutuo has posted a video allegedly showing a game-like achievement board used at one of Amazon’s warehouses, featuring goals like “Pick 1,000,000 units” and “Get a fast start 10 times.”
The video now has over 1.9 million views, and many users literally can’t believe their eyes. Many of the comments are along the lines of “Imagine if this was real” and “This would be like a ‘Black Mirror’ episode.”
However, this “gamification of underpaid labor,” as one comment put it, has actually been known about since at least 2019. Back in March 2021, The Information reported that Amazon had expanded the program to at least 20 Amazon warehouses throughout the US.
The program, known as FC Games, offers Amazon employees the opportunity to play various workstation games which track their overall productivity, and offers rewards, such as virtual pets – but apparently no extra cash.
In a letter to RT, Amazon stated that “Employees have told us they enjoy having the option to join in these workstation games, which are completely optional; they can switch in or out of different games depending on their preference, can play anonymously, or not play at all—the choice is theirs.”
Amazon stressed that the games are not used to monitor or manage employee performance.
But while some of the employees do seem to enjoy this program, as it takes away from the tediousness and repetition of their long warehouse shifts, others have nevertheless noted the dystopian feeling of the games, which essentially encourage workers to work as hard as possible and compete amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, Amazon retains a notorious reputation for offering its employees substandard working conditions and very low wages, which over the years has resulted in numerous worker strikes.