Advanced, a global financial software provider surveyed over 5,000 senior decision makers and found that 47% anticipate the adoption of employee microchips in the workplace by 2030. 

The ‘benefits’ of being chipped include employees becoming walking key cards, allowing them to seamlessly open doors, log into computers, and improving the all around security of the workplace.

As it stands employers are unable to legally require an employee to be microchipped, or make it a condition of employment. While there are a few positives to being chipped, such as monitored health and work habits, the negative impacts appear to outweigh the positive at the moment. 

“Having some autonomy over how they work, when they take breaks, and working at times when they feel most productive is an important part of employee wellbeing,” said Alex Arundale, chief people experience officer at Advanced HR.

“Feeling under constant surveillance can cause anxiety and increase the risk of burnout, making it counterproductive for the employer.”  

Many HR professionals believe performance management tools are a better indicator of employee productivity. Particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of AI-driven surveillance tools has grown in usage to monitor the output of remote or hybrid workers. 

Millions of workers across the UK are currently observed by managers during their work hours through the use of cloud-based working systems. This allows managers to analyse the worker output instead of the activity level of the workers themselves. Giving managers the ability to streamline or automate certain tasks as well. 

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Many employees, especially Gen Z (81%) and Millennial (80%) workers say they are happy working alongside robotic technology, as opposed to older generations, primarily because they grew up with the internet. “(They) are much more open to the role that technology will play in their working and home lives,” said Arundale. 

However, even if employee tracking is being presented to workers through the guise of wellness or fitness, the data gleaned from this technology has unexplored and unresolved consequences for workers such as employee medical history.