Some employers are starting to take extremes in monitoring employee behaviour by introducing wearable technology. California-based tech-company, Buffer, gave its employees wristbands, which monitor health indicators like amount of exercise and sleeping patterns, and that data is then shared among colleagues.
This wearable technology is meant to encourage self-improvement and increase productivity, but is this process too intrusive?
Assistant Professor Kenneth Goh told CBC News that using data collection as a form of performance management could actually limit innovation.
"It becomes too Orwellian," said Goh. "There have been studies to show that workers actually thrive when they have some degree of privacy. They do more trial-and-error learning, they're more willing to make mistakes in private."
In a similar piece by CBC News that looks at the current impacts of data-collection technology on employee behaviour, Professor Peter Bell addressed some employees’ fears that the data collected would not be anonymous and, instead, could be used for hiring, firing, and promotion considerations.
"In Canada, hiring and firing people is a nightmare," said Bell. "It's much better to identify issues on the job and try to train people and mentor them to be more productive."
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