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Employee Upgrade

9/22/2017

13 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

Many employees have to take work home with them: It’s reality for a great many jobs.  One company, however, is eroding the personal/professional boundary even more.  Wisconsin-based Three Square Market, also called 32M, is asking its employees to take work home “in” them.
 
32M is the first U.S. company to “chip” its employees.  Workers who agree to the anatomical upgrade, have a grain-sized microchip implanted under the skin on the back on their hand, between the index finger and thumb.  A CNBC video gives a great visual of the chip and how it’s injected.
 
Not long after the company had made the chip available, 50 of 80 employees had volunteered for the insertion.  Software engineer Sam Bengtson explained his reason for accepting the chip:
 
“It was pretty much 100 percent yes right from the get-go for me.  In the next five to 10 years, this is going to be something that isn’t scoffed at so much, or is more normal. So I like to jump on the bandwagon with these kind of things early, just to say that I have it.”
 
For employees, the value of the implant is mainly convenience.  The RFID-enabled chip allows workers to swipe into buildings, pay for food in cafeterias, and log onto computers, all with the wave of a hand—no need to pull-out ID cards or type in passcodes.
 
So, what are the benefits of this technology to 32M?  The main advantage would seem to be that the technology relates directly to the company’s product.  The B2B firm sells self-service micro-markets to other organizations: miniature convenience stores where employees can purchase food and drink without anyone helping them.  Although there are other ways for shoppers to “check-out,” an implanted chip may be the way people buy potato chips in the future.

Another reason for 32M chipping its own employees could be that it’s trying to better meet their wants and needs, which is sometimes called “internal marketing.”  The basic premise is that a firm needs satisfied employees in order to have satisfied customers because the former serve the latter.
 
Perhaps there are also some cost savings that will accrue to 32M, either because the technology will prove cheaper over time than existing security systems or because employees will save time, which means money.  Beyond these possible reasons, 32M’s motivation becomes even more speculative.  CEO Todd Westby claims that the RFID technology will become the standard for using all manner of security-driven devices, but those are the same employee convenience reasons mentioned above. 
 
It’s interesting that of the many news articles written about this story, none that I’ve read talk about specific benefits for 32M. That curious omission makes it even more tempting to imagine unscrupulous reasons why a company might want to chip its employees.
 
Along those lines, one of the most compelling concerns the chips present is privacy.  For instance, will companies be able to track their chip-toting workers wherever they go?  The simple answer is “no” because the chips do not have GPS technology.
 
That fact, however, doesn’t preclude firms from installing RFID readers throughout their own facilities to see how much time people are spending in the breakroom or how often they’re using the bathroom.  Dr. Alessandro Acquisti, a professor of information technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University echoes this concern: “Once [the chips] are implanted, it’s very hard to predict or stop a future widening of their usage.”  Just like marijuana can be a gateway drug to heroin, companies’ use of embedded RFID chips to track employees’ snack purchases could easily lead to all kinds of other monitoring.
 
Related to privacy is the issue of security.  32M claims that the chip’s data is "encrypted," but that term has a wide range of meaning, similar to “biodegradable.”  Dr. Acquisti explains that encrypted is "a pretty vague term . . . which could include anything from a truly secure product to something that is easily hackable."  No information is safe if hackers can crack the encryption key, and shorter encryption keys are easier to decipher than longer ones.
 
Another concern surrounding the chips is safety.  Fortunately, implantation is relatively painless—“Just a little prick” and a “brief sting.”  Also, the FDA approved the technology about 13 years ago, which is somewhat reassuring.  It’s hard, however, to know the long-term impact of a foreign object placed in the body.  Thirteen years is not that long a track-record, especially given limited trials.
 
Furthermore, what happens when a chip goes bad or becomes obsolete and needs to be replaced?  Or, what if an employee leaves to work somewhere else that uses its own RFID chip?  There’s also the possibility of other organizations, like airlines and athletic clubs, asking us to insert their own chips into us so they too can track our consumption.  Pretty soon people become human pin cushions.
 
For those and other reasons, it’s good that 32M has made the chips optional: “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.”  One has to wonder, though, how much freedom of choice 32M employees actually have.
 
How would you feel to be one of only a few people in your office wearing a special wristband or ring?  What do those very visible accessories say about you in terms of how much you embrace technology, support your company’s new initiatives, and trust your employer?  A strong argument can be made that 32M employees don’t truly have informed consent.  In other words, although they may have a fairly good idea of how the chips will be used, their desire to stay gainfully employed can compel them to choose something they don’t really want.
 
Organizations have to be especially careful when marketing to their own employees.  Unlike external customers who can freely tell companies what they like and don’t like, employees usually can’t afford to be so frank.  Although the RFID chips may produce some benefits for 32M and its people, asking them to put the tracking devices under their skin is not a fair request; rather, it’s “Single-Minded Marketing.”


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13 Comments
Jenny Dose
9/24/2017 08:10:45 pm

Good one for my HR class to read. Thanks!

Reply
Steven Johnsen
10/13/2017 03:49:51 pm

I like the idea 32M has. I like that people do not need to pull out cards or phones to make purchases or enter buildings. It is quick and easy! The main advantage would seem to be that the technology relates directly to the company’s product. But there are some great disadvantages as well. By having this chip inside people, it gives the company the advantage or "spying" on people. Personally, I would not want this inside my body. It's easier to pull out a card. This is just a bigger excuse to make us even lazier. But the technology could become more advanced in the future where you see everyone using them.

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Leslie Chan
10/14/2017 02:46:12 pm

Personally, I am not a fan of this idea. The idea of having a company chip inside my body is invasive and uncomfortable. It leads to so many potential problems you mentioned in the article. Although I am glad that it is optional for the employees at 32M, I definitely agree that the social pressure at the company doesn't really seem to make the chip choice optional. After all, no one wants to stick out in the wrong way at work. In addition, this chip crosses the barrier between work and home. You are essentially bringing work home. If the chip technology progresses even further and this practice becomes the normal, the home work dynamic will be greatly affected.

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Naomi Jow
10/16/2017 12:26:30 am

In my opinion, I find it unnecessary to require every employee to have a 32M implanted in them. Although there are benefits to the chip, it also raises the question of the employee’s privacy. Yes, the chip only tracks the employee when they are at work to keep them accountable for when they are on the clock, but it also makes the employee question if the employer actually trusts them. If I was placed in this situation, I would choose not to implant this device.

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Christina Aspland
10/16/2017 09:13:26 pm

In my opinion, I do not like the idea 32M has begun to implement among their employees. I feel that these devices are so new that we do not know the consequences of privacy issues that may come with it. Even if they only function to the degree in which 32M has intended it to be, I would not want my employer tracking how often I got a bag of potato chips or what times I used the restroom. I have held jobs where the RFID system was used very frequently and it seemed to work well with the company having employees carry RFID chips inside of their ID tags. It seems unnecessary to inject a foreign body into employees for simple tracking techniques like clocking in and purchasing food. Right now, these technologies pose to many risks for me to be interested in it.

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Hannah Dietze
10/18/2017 03:03:18 pm

To be honest, the thought of chipping employees sounds like a concept straight out of a classic dystopian novel. In other words, it’s disturbing; what’s even more disturbing, in my opinion, is that 50 of 32M’s 80 employees volunteered for chipping not long after it was initially offered. Yes, these chips offer convenience, but at what cost? As our culture moves more and more towards ease in all aspects of life, one has stop and consider the give-and-take, especially since these chips are, well, invasive. How much privacy will we have to lose in order to gain these new conveniences? Or, more importantly, how much privacy is it possible to lose? Personally, I hope this is a trend that peters out.

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Rebecca Chung
10/22/2017 10:50:17 pm

32M should release a public statement about their ideals surrounding this chipping technology, and why they encourage their employees to get chipped. I think that if they have a solid, and proper reasoning, it would make more sense to consumers, but the simple explanation of the convenience of buying snacks and swiping into doors is just not enough to justify putting a metal object inside and employee.

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David Choe
10/23/2017 10:48:32 pm

It's a scary thought to have advanced in technology this far as to put it in our bodies in order to work. Such an unnecessary action would lead me to feel all kinds of unsure emotions running through my head. I would want to stay chip-free because if I move on to another work place, what am I supposed to do with the chip that's inside me? A funny question to ask would be, would you be considered 1% cyborg if you have that chip inside? Many things are running through my head right now and a lot of them are from being uncomfortable at this idea.

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Eric Tjokrorahardjo
10/23/2017 10:59:49 pm

In my opinion, I am not really sure about the idea of putting chip in your employees. It just sounded strange to me since we do not really know what are the consequences on putting these new type of devices. I would say it is not necessary but I do like how this is just an optional thing to do for the employees. But if I were them, I would not put anything like that inside my body for sure.

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haiyan cui
10/24/2017 12:27:03 am

For 32M technology is very novel. Most of the company's employees would like to support this new technology. Although 32M is trying to better meet their needs and convenience, but I personally do not like this idea. If this is just for the purpose of convenience, it is not necessary. Although the chip will only track employees when the employees are at work. It is still not secured. I feel like our lives are disturbed by this kind of new technology, and have no privacy and security.

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Tu Truong
10/24/2017 01:54:58 am

This was indeed a very interesting article to read and thank you for summarizing it so we, as readers, can understand and follow easily. What 32M did, I could and would never agree to it. Yes, the advantages are apparently. A reduction in the things an employee has to carry with them, such as no more keycards, paying for food in the cafeteria without using their physical bank-issued cards, keyless entry to doors and entryways. While those are innovative and super cool in a way, the disadvantages can totally outweigh these in a minute, and the fact that people even consider having these planted inside their body is unexplainable. First of all, I understand that you like the company and are dedicated to it, but you should never allow anyone to put anything inside of your body despite knowing exactly what it is, let alone a chip that grants access to things. 32M could plant a hearing device inside the chip and listen to its employees from the inside out. The chip could be infused with drugs and harmful substances (yes, why would 32M do that, but you never really know) and you can't know what's inside it as an employee. It could be developed more in the future one technology furthers itself and the possibilities to adding functions and features to this existing chip are seriously endless. The chip could GPS track you and measure the health of your body and you wouldn't have the slightest idea. Do you see where I'm going with this? There are many more wrongs than there are rights, and with 32M doing this and it's only the beginning, I'm afraid to find out how it's going to be in the future. Good read.

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Seth Simmons
12/7/2017 11:42:24 am

Honestly, I believe that this computer chip is a completely horrible idea. I personally am against the idea of interfacing with computers by trying to make us into some sort of cyborg to fit the needs of a company. I understand that it will streamline processes, but all in all I strongly believe that it is something to stay away from.

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Garrett Bloemhof
3/11/2018 10:11:16 pm

Chipping employees seems like a huge step forward in technology that is not necessary. Today companies are driven by technology and ways to speed up the process of duties while also reducing jobs giving them to technology. Putting a chip in myself would seem to be a huge invasion of my privacy. I want to keep my personal life and work life separated. By having a chip in my arm it would seem that it would be impossible to separate these two things.

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