Wearable technology creeps into the workplace
“Physically it was like getting a vaccination; a pain in the hand that was over very quickly,” explains Hannes Sjöblad, describing the moment a piercing specialist implanted a microchip under his skin.
The NFC ( near- field communication) chip allows the Swede to swipe into his office, set the alarm system, register loyalty points at nearby retailers and access his gym.
Around 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the 250 people working at the Epicenter co- working space in Stockholm where Sjöblad is “Chief Disruption Officer” have opted into the program, which eliminates the need for key- fobs or electronic entry cards. Since announcing it earlier this year, Sjöblad has been flooded with inquiries from companies looking to adopt a similar system.
“Security companies, office operators, real estate companies and even military organizations want to see how this technology works,” Sjöblad says.
It’s all part of a trend toward using technology — usually wearable devices such as smartglasses, wristbands, smartwatches and badges rather than implantable ones — to monitor employee movements and improve productivity. The promise of data- driven efficiency can be alluring to the boardroom, but it comes at a cost: the employee’s right to privacy. “It started with big data discussions around gathering business insights and not having the human accounted for in that data puzzle. Wearable technology can help make the workforce visible in that,” says Chris Bauer, director of Innovation at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Devices, however, must be paired with a powerful back- end system.
A key trend is companies using wearable devices to track employee health — giving staff fitness monitors to keep tabs on their activity levels as part of “wellness” programs. This data can be tied into health insurance policy premiums or other incentive programs to reduce health- care costs.
Oil giant BP, for example, has distributed more than 24,500 Fitbit fitness trackers to staff of its North American business in 2015 alone using such an incentive program.
While wearable technology can bring huge benefits, they also bring challenges, particularly as devices start to gather more and more personal and biometric data. Consumer- grade gadgets don’t always have rigorous encryption and other protections to safeguard personal data, which could leave companies exposed to data leaks or theft.
“We hear about data breaches every week — and it’s naive to think that the same won’t happen with these miniaturized devices,” says technology lawyer Paul Lanois.