Amazon is turning warehouse work into a real-life video game

Amazon is aiming to increase worker productivity in its warehouses by turning a normal day's tasks into video games.

The online retail giant has started installing screens at workers' stations loaded with video games that mirror the real-life actions of the workers. The faster a worker loads a box, the further they advance in games like PicksInSpace, Mission Racer and CastleCrafter, reports The Verge.

Games have only been installed at five warehouses in the U.S. and U.K. so far, and they are voluntary. At at least one facility, workers are incentivized to partake in the games by being rewarded "swag bucks," a company currency that can be put toward Amazon-branded merchandise, per The Verge.

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The games, which pit employees against each other, are also an attempt to make work more enjoyable for employees. Workers have previously discussed the intense and sometimes toxic work culture at Amazon.