Siri now works with Salesforce to remind employees
about meetings and quotas while monitoring their
speech. Given that iOS puts the platform in pockets, the
boundaries of the workplace and observing what’s said
there could extend to wherever the employee might be.
Alexa for Business blends shared devices in conference
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spaces with personal devices that sit on desks or in the
homes of employees. And Walmart has patented a
system that spies on both customers and employees in
stores: In its patent application, the company said, “A
need exists for ways to capture the sounds resulting
from people in the shopping facility and determine
performance of employees based on those sounds.”
THE END OF THE LAW
The measure of ease employees have with the Internet
of Things may correspond to the sense of inevitability
they have about monitoring. Gartner’s Kopp says that in
2018, 30 percent of employees said they were
comfortable with their company “tracking personal
data” about them, compared with just 10 percent
several years ago. Combine that with the fact that
employment contracts generally provide considerable
latitude for companies to watch workers. Whether or
not they are comfortable with it, employees will likely
have to get used to it.
Whether or
not they are
comfortable
with being
monitored,
employees
will likely
have to get
used to it.