Workplace of The Future? Amazon Potentially Planning to Track It’s Employees
Recently, Amazon received patents for an “ultrasonic bracelet” that tracks employee movements. Is Amazon the workplace of the future? Turns out that the theory of this type of worker tracking device has been around since the early 1900’s.
The online retail giant pitches this as a labor-saving device that monitors how efficiently workers fill their orders. Like the iPhone X, this ultrasonic bracelet will provide “haptic feedback”, as the employee reaches for the correct bins, thus reducing unnecessary motion. Not only will the bracelet monitor activity or the lack thereof, but will save and enable workers to get more work done faster.
Could this be a play toward a work environment of humanoids of some sort? If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re not alone. A some editorial outlets sounded an alarm when the news broke of Amazon’s plans.
Back in 1856, Frederick Winslow Taylor was born into a affluent Philadelphia family. Taylor ended up becoming a Harvard grad, and worked as a loathe operator at Midvale Steel Works, a company known for producing high-end steel products that required the ultimate in precision.Taylor’s experience at Midvale and working under William Sellers prompted the idea of “scientific management”. “Men will not do an extraordinary day’s work for an ordinary day’s pay,” Taylor said. If a worker failed to meet expectations, the scientific device will log this activity, and the worker would get paid wages that reflected their production. But if the employee exceeded those expectations, they would earn more accordingly. This concept is outlined in the 1911 publication, “The Principals of Scientific Management”. I’ve include the link here if you want to download a free PDF version of the book to any device.
There’s no direct indication of how Jeff Bezos plans to take advantage of the new patent. But it’s interesting that the company wants to get into the wearable space. Typically, when companies patent technology, there’s a monetary plan to profit from the creation. The “ultrasonic bracelet” may be used to monitor Amazon’s employees, sold to other brands to do the same, or even for commercial use to connect it’s personal Alexa assistant to serve bio management system on top of other skills and capabilities. Could you imagine Alexa notifying you that you blood sugar levels are too high, and then ordering you a protein pack and have it delivered to your door by its 30 minute drone service?
Amazon is moving toward near telepathy with servicing its customers before they even know what its needed. As much as I love tech, we humans do have brains for good reason you know. Of course, not all of us use them productively, but could this level of tech enhance the problem and prompt some to become even more lethargic? In time we’ll have the answers to many of our technological questions. But until then, we will continue to rely upon the likes of Fitbit, Apple Watch, and possibly Amazon’s wearable to determine what comes next in life, and how we’re doing at it.
