This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
Published on November 12, 2019, a report by Gartner predicts that globally, we will spend $42 billion (Sh4.2 trillion) on 225 million wearable devices such as smartwatches this year.
Wearable tech that monitors physical performance has become commonplace for professional athletes, and experts believe it will soon move into white-collar environments. Dr Chris Brauer, from Goldsmiths, the University of London, thinks that companies might use biometric data to monitor employees' physical and mental well-being, potentially pulling someone from a big sales pitch if the data shows they haven't slept for the past three nights.
Ambitious workers might also use this technology to their advantage, handing over their data to potential employers to show how well they respond to stress. However, the law around the collection of biometric data in the workplace is still emerging, and this technology could certainly raise concerns about privacy, data storage, and anti-discrimination.
According to Gartner, per cent of US, European, and Canadian companies surveyed track workers using biometrics, mostly for clocking in and out rather than monitoring physical performance at work. It seems inevitable, though, that some firms will see an advantage in expanding its uses.
As the use of biometric wearables in the workplace becomes more prevalent, it raises questions about whether optimising white-collar productivity will be seen as justifiable.
