Big Brother Hearts You

As those of us over 50 were building our careers and maintaining our employment, we knew how to dress the part. Whether suit and tie, apron and toque, overalls or coveralls, our clothes were part of a uniform, whether we thought of them that way or not.

Sometimes our workplace apparel was emblazoned with our employer’s name, or our own.

But however we dressed, and whatever message those clothes sent out to the universe, our garments didn’t spy on us.

Until, maybe, now.

Nike is working closely with Apple to advance fitness-sensitive Nike+ wearables. Nike’s CEO predicts the company can expand from 25 million Nike+ users to hundreds of millions.

What does this have to do with the workplace, when wearables were developed for people who like exercise gadgets?

It’s entirely possible that sooner rather than later you or your employer will decide that your workplace apparel will serve everyone better if it can track some of your vital statistics.

Think police officers under stress. Delivery staff handling heavy objects, sometimes up several flights of stairs. People over 60 with a health history that deserves diligent monitoring.

Your location is already trackable via your smartphone’s GPS, so it would be a small step to monitor how we’re moving and how our heart rate rises and falls when we’re at work.

Is this Big Brother paranoia, or a legitimate concern?