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Microchipping Employees: Weighing the Options


Microchipping Employees: Weighing the Options

Consider ethics and privacy issues when implementing the workplace technology of tomorrow.

Recently, there was a story in the news about a company in Wisconsin that is going to begin to implant RFID microchips into their employees. The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and will function as a multi-purpose credit card, key, and identification tool.

While this may very well be the future, there are many questions and issues that need to be considered regarding this technology including, but not limited to, the ethics, the privacy, the security and the ownership of the information.

The Case for Microchipping Employees

First the positive:

  1. This microchip can greatly enhance security at business locations.
  2. Employees who have the RFID chip implanted between their thumb and forefinger can then use it "to make purchases in their break room micro market, open doors, log-in to computers, use the copy machine, unlock phones, purchase items and more.
  3. The chip could also be used in the future to store passport information, store health information, share information, for using public transportation, etc.

The Case Against Microchipping Employees

Now let’s review the negative.

  1. Privacy issues are the first things that come to mind. While this specific RFID chip doesn't provide a record of all the employee’s movements, it could easily provide enough data to the company that could be used against an employee. Consider the monitoring of how long someone is at their desk or the length of an employee’s breaks or remotely following and recording every movement of an employee throughout their day. Does a company have the right to follow an employee’s every movement during the day?
  2. And what about security of this information. Can it be hacked? Even though the information on the microchip is encrypted, it may still be vulnerable to hacking.

Privacy, Ethics and Workplace Technology

For employees not prepared to implant a chip in their bodies, the company is offering two other options – the same technology, placed in a wristband or a ring, but the same questions both ethically and legally apply.

If this is the way of the future how do we set standards on individual ownership and control over these implants? How do we educate individuals about this technology? Who pays for all this? Does this compromise ownership of one’s body? And what if there are legal or medical issues that arise from the implants? Who is responsible for the costs of those?

Obviously, as technology advances so must the workplace, but ethics and personal privacy must not be forgotten.