A qualitative study on employee well-being in warehouses

Abstract

Although automatisation and digitalisation are rising in warehouses, many tasks still need to be performed by humans. However, one of the main problems is finding and keeping qualified staff. Although the coming of Industry 5.0 draws attention to humans again, many challenges still need to be overcome. This study aims to examine how employee well-being can be increased in warehouses and how order pickers experience their well-being at work. First, a well-being framework was built based on the existing literature. Subsequently, a qualitative study was employed to discover the essential aspects and an in-depth understanding of order picker well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in five logistics companies. In each company, order pickers, someone with a managerial position in the warehouse and an employee with extensive knowledge of the well-being policy of the company were interviewed. The transcribing process is still ongoing. We will use thematic analysis to analyse the data. For now, the social dimension of employee well-being seems crucial, as multiple preliminary conclusions can be linked to this dimension. Another important aspect is the increasing diversity in the workplace as it impacts company processes like communication.