Draining Bodies without Care: Worker Energy Depletion and Recharging at Amazon, Poland.

Abstract

This article proposes integrating the concepts of energy depletion and recharging as key elements in the struggle over labour indeterminacy at Amazon. To this end, it draws on empirical data collected from two Amazon warehouses and analyses worker narratives related to energy management at work. The findings illustrate how, in digital warehousing, diverse worker bodies are treated as homogeneous, disposable, and replaceable due to their short-term energy capacity. This helps explain why such companies often organise for permanent turnover rather than ensuring sustainable energy management. Conceptually, centring energy extends existing debates on work surveillance and the labour process towards embodiment and social reproduction; empirically, it identifies energy governance as a distinct locus of the indeterminacy struggle. The article argues for transparency in algorithmic assessment, enforceable restorative time and ergonomic standards, and incentives aligned with sustainable, health-preserving work.