Workplace wearables could help you get more done, or just drive you nuts
Workplace wearables could help you get more done, or just drive you nuts
(REUTERS/David W Cerny)
There was a time, not all that long ago, when smartphones were little pieces of magic tiny, handheld computers we carried around in our pockets. Over the past several years, theyve become a work tool like any other. Sure, theres still buzz around big unveilings from companies like Apple and Samsung, but its really remarkable how quickly the devices transformed from pocket-sized miracles of consumer electronic technologies to frequent nuisances devices we now feel we need to take vacations from.
And now, along with your work laptop and smartphone, theres a new type of tech worming its way into the workplace. All signs point to wearables being the next big consumer electronic trend to make a major impact on the hours of 9 to 5.
The specifics still need to be hammered out, of course. Heck, were still in the relatively early stages of wearable computing in the consumer space, but its pretty easy to see how things like fitness trackers and head-up displays could soon be welcomed with open arms by offices.
Companies like Salesforce are already bracing for this type of move. The workplace-computing company has been steadily adding many of the top wearable devices to Salesforce Wear, a platform devoted to opening up such devices to enterprise developers. The list of compatible products is already a long one, including Google Glass, Fitbit, Jawbone UP, Pebble, Oculus Rift and several others.
Its exciting, though. Remember how psyched you were the first time the guy from IT dropped your brand-new iPhone on your desk? A paycheck, healthcare and a shiny new Apple phone? Clearly youd died and taken an elevator ride up to a heaven with mediocre coffee. Now, imagine that your new employee bundle also contained a pair of Google Glass.
Its easy to see whats in it for companies. I tried out a pair of augmented-reality glasses from Canon a while back that presented all sorts of fascinating possibilities. On the most basic level, theres the ability to multi-task, receiving important notifications as you have your hands free for other projects. Theres also driving directions, contextual information and the even virtual reality. A car company, for example, could allow engineers to explore new models before theyre even built. Ford is already pulling this off .
At the moment, Saleforces approach is likely to be the most realistic harness low-cost, mass-market technologies for business purposes. After all, those Canon MReal glasses carried a $125,000 price tag. I dont care how valued of an employee you are, no IT person is going to be bringing one of those things up to your desk any time soon. Footing the bill for a Fitbit or even a pair of Google Glass, on the other hand, doesnt seem like such an impossibility.
Of course, wearables at work (were all on-board to start calling these workables, right?) could potentially further complicate our relationships with our employers, too. The most immediate potential problem is the one highlight above that so many continental nations are working so hard to combat.
Think youre having a hard time disconnecting from work email now? Imagine what would happen once your employer brings wearables into the picture. Think about it: Hardware like a Pebble smartwatch or Google Glass allow you to engage with messages at all times, without having to remove your smartphone from your pocket. Business wearables could in some cases literally put business messages in front of employees faces at all times.
As with smartphones, once youve entered into the verbal contract that comes with picking up that device, many employers will expect that youll always be at the ready. Excuses of not seeing emails wont hold a lot of water. Of course, in many cases, the solution to that is, again, just as simple as disconnecting.
The bigger concern with such devices in the work environment is a question of privacy. A couple of weeks back, we took a look at some of some of the potential concerns surrounding data collection be wearable manufacturers. Jawbone wowed everyone with the graph it presented of wearer sleep patterns (or lack thereof) during the recent Napa, California earthquake. Almost immediately, however, privacy groups wanted to know what Jawbone was doing collecting and publishing that information.
It was more than just a neat graph, it was a case of a company possessing some pretty in-depth information surrounding its users sleep patterns. In that case, the information was kept entirely anonymous, with no way to tie anything back to individual wearers. But what happens when your employer owns the device youre wearing? How much intensely personal information about our movement, sleep, location and health would we be expected to surrender?
Earlier this year, public radio program Radiolab published a fairly damning look inside of Amazon warehouse cultures, in which inventory fulfillers are required to wear device that calculate the amount of time it should take a worker to locate an object in the space, counting down and ultimately penalizing them for going over. I got stressed out just listening to it. Sure, the story feels like an anomaly now, but as Amazon continues to set public expectations for this kind of immediacy, its hard to imagine that more companies wont adopt similar practices moving ahead.
Workplace wearables may be a gateway to these types of practices, easing employees into being tracked, pestered and monitored with devices theyre already using.
Of course, any of these dystopian scenarios are still a way off. As I mentioned earlier, were not not even to the point where we can consider them fully mainstream in the consumer space. But given how business wearables are already being treated as a foregone conclusion, weve got a bit of a headstart in keeping an eye on how theyre implemented.
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It will be interesting to see if this will be a success or a failure.
LOL..
My first thought was the uniforms my husband has to wear... I have a LOT to say about that!
Neither one of us have to wear something that we can wear to connect to the internet, and I can say that I hope I never have to. I have a hard enough time seeing, as it is.
I have a "love-hate "relationship with technology...so, I would not like it!!