To microchip employees, or not, is a question some leaders are asking themselves.
Would you get microchipped?
It’s a question leaders at one business in Wisconsin asked their employees – and dozens of people volunteered to have the chip embedded in their hand.
The technology allows employees to get snacks from a vending machine and open doors with just the swipe of their hand near a sensor.
Enterprise Architect Richard Hammer said the technology has the potential to allow people to use an embedded chip, and leave their keys, access passes and debit cards at home.
It would also mean people could hover their hand near a reader, instead of typing in endless passwords and pin numbers that can be tough to remember.
“All of the improvements and scary things that are happening in technology in the last 30 years have been exciting, and in a lot of ways terrifying,” said Richard Hammer. “You already have a phone in your pocket. Your phone has the exact same tracking ability, and that data is already used in ways you might not be aware of. So you’re already three quarters of the way there. That doesn’t justify necessarily going there, but you’re already three quarters of the way there.”
Employment Attorney Tommy Strelka believes a voluntary program like microchipping in the workplace could lead to serious issues, like possible discrimination and privacy concerns.
“If an employee refuses to be chipped, are they looked upon from their employers perspective as a less desirable employee, a less productive employee,” asked Strelka. “I strongly believe that there needs to be legislation to protect employees who refuse to have these chips implanted within their bodies.”
Similar legislation has already been brought to the table in Pennsylvania.
The CEO of Cortex Leadership Consulting said leaders should think long and hard before considering innovations that may cross the line.
“Just because we can doesn’t mean we should, and I think as leaders we need to sit back think about what does it mean to be implanting something for convenience purposes inside our employees bodies,” said Lynda McNutt Foster. “I think it’s about conscious business. I think it’s about leaders really taking time to think deeply about what they’re doing, but more importantly why they’re doing it and are they ideating enough to go ‘are there other ways to accomplish the same exact thing without intruding on people’s personal liberties.'”
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