After moving to Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, I engaged in the agonizing process of finding “meaningful” employment, either remotely or on the island. The latter was a pipe dream, so I applied for dozens (and dozens) of jobs that could be done from home in my bunny slippers.

Like many “older” job seekers I got one response for every ten or so applications. One company seemed particularly interested in me for a product marketing role. My first hurdle on the path to a job interview was to write several short essays. After a day of frantic typing, I was rewarded with a call from a recruiter.

She explained all employees work from home but were required to install spy software on their PCs, along with enable their webcam so a picture could be snapped of them every 10 minutes. The recruiter assured me I’d get used to the intrusion, and my work product would improve with ongoing counseling on how to improve my efficiency.

I stammered, “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”

I’d forgotten about the disconcerting prospective of Big Brother watching me until Walmart’s recent announcement they filed a patent to monitor workers’ activities. They’re exploring tuning into the tenor at check-out counters, such as rustling bags, casual conversations between workers and customers, and other sounds that might clue them into the work habits of employees and buying behavior of customers.

Really? It’s not enough to have cameras monitoring activities, sensors to detect when an item has been discretely tucked into a purse or down a pair of pants, and security personnel surveying every inch their premises from parking lots to loading docks?

Walmart titled their patent application as “Listening to the Frontend,” which sounds innocent enough. I can’t help wondering, however, if by walking into a Walmart, customers are tangentially giving permission to have their conversations recorded.  And would employees become hesitant about offering suggestions if their manager could use the conversation to discipline them?

Living on an island with few retail options, I occasionally sneak into the local Walmart when I desperately need something. A few weeks ago, I slunk in to purchase a support bra for biking and kayaking. The sales associate commented the strap broke on her only bra, but she needed to wait until payday to purchase another one (Gotta’ love how the employees of one of the most profitable companies in America need to juggle purchasing food, housing, transportation, utilities, clothing, and other necessities).

There’s nothing in my interaction with the cashier that Walmart could have used to better serve me. But it would have provided the opportunity to dock the cashier for interjecting her personal concerns about the rapid deterioration of her only bra.

Employers reason listening devices and webcams, sensors in employees’ chairs to determine if they’re at their desks, software to capture keystrokes and web-browsing patterns, and other tracking tools are simply a means to improve productivity and provide better customer service. In my opinion, it’s permission to find cause to discipline or potentially fire.

Yes, I realize monitoring employees in certain industries is not only wise, but essential. Examples include investment brokers who might share insider information, cashiers who could pilfer large amounts of cash such as in casinos, medical professionals who have access to regulated drugs, and workers in hazardous locations who might need immediate medical assistance if an accident occurs.

Surveillance of employees, however, is starting to creep outside the workplace. The Wall Street Journal reported companies like Castlight Health are mining workers’ medical and pharmacy claims, and search queries to determine if any employees are trying to conceive or are already pregnant. Two of Castlight’s customers are Walmart and Time Warner. Castlight can also gather workers’ medical information to identify groups of employees who may have medical issues, and theoretically, they can also track employees’ search history to learn more about their personal activities, affiliations, and interests.

Tracking employees’ health reminds me of China’s one-child policy, implemented in 1979 to curb overpopulation. More than one million part-time and full-time workers were hired to ensure women in rural areas used birth control and gave birth to only one child.

The policy was successful but resulted in an adverse male-to-female imbalance. Women aborted female fetuses or abandoned their female babies in hope of producing a male heir. Today, not only are there to few working adults to take care of the aging population, but with nearly 30 million more men than women, it’s difficult to find a spouse.

Tracking and monitoring employees’ activities can result in equally undesirable results with workers unwilling to take risks, hesitant to collaborate, reluctant to do anything extra for customers, churning out mediocre work to fill the time, and being apathetic until they find a less intrusive job.

Photo by Brandon Wong on Unsplash