Employee Engagement: A trend I hope doesn't catch on: micro-chipping employees

« Welcome to a new employee communications blogger! | Main | GlaxoSmithKline engages sales force to change perception »

February 16, 2006

A trend I hope doesn't catch on: micro-chipping employees

The use of radio frequency identification (where small microchips are placed on an object for the purpose of tracking and identification) has been around for about 30 years. It's used by businesses to track items, farmers to locate missing animals and by libraries to keep tabs on books.

Now it seems they may be about to enter the workplace. I read a report yesterday in the Chicago Tribune about a security company in Ohio that has begun offering the chips to its employees to boost security. Instead of having to swipe a magentic card to gain entry to a facility, a few of these employees (including the head of the company) have had the chips installed to facilitate instant identity verification at security checkpoints.

The only other company I am aware of that chips its employees is VeriChip, the company that makes them. In October 2004, VeriChip received approval by the US Food and Drug Administration to implant the chips into humans.

Although the chips do not emit signals that allow for tracking, the concept blurs in new ways the division between "work life" and "private life" that is already so blurred in many societies. I could easily see a scenario in which companies with large hourly workforces could require chip implants as a condition of employment and use them to more accurately track time at work. If you go outside for a cigarette break, for example, sensors detect your chip leaving the building and then entering again 5 minutes later; your pay is then adjusted accordingly. Let's hope it never gets to this point.

Posted by Christopher at February 16, 2006 6:02 AM