1. How do you know when you are not in good health? What are the first signs that you might be coming down with something?
2. Is your health your responsibility alone, or are there other stakeholders involved e.g. an annual check-up at the doctor's for the purposes of health insurance?
3. What technology do you use to monitor your health? Do you have a thermometer, or a blood pressure monitor? Do you have any wearable technology that measures the number of steps you take, heart rate, or blood sugar? If not, would you consider using them? Are they necessary?
4. In terms of privacy, do you think your health should be the concern of your employer?
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Read article here: Track Your Health
5. What is your reaction? Do you think that the Cleveland Clinic is right to increase health insurance premiums to staff members who don't participate in "wellness programmes"? Do you think that questioning employees on their marital status is appropriate, or is it justified in an age where data collection is the norm?
6. Which of the following questions would you object to if they were part of a workplace questionnaire?
a) Do you plan to start a family?
b) Have you recently been through a divorce?
c) Which social groups do you belong to?
d) How many units of alcohol do you consume in a week?
Is there a less confrontational way of finding out this information?
7. If you were offered a position with your 'dream' company and they asked such questions, would you go there or walk away?
8. How would you describe the attitude of the author of the article? Is she hostile towards this type of monitoring? Do you not think that in an age where everything can be measured, there is nothing sinister here, and that if anyone's privacy has been infringed, it can be taken into account by an understanding employer?
9. Does your country have any legislation on the recording and usage of your health data? If not, should it? In the UK, most (all?) data is anonymised before being given to third parties involved in research - isn't this enough to safeguard your privacy?
10. Shouldn't employment healthcare be a win-win situation for both employer and employee? Healthcare costs were reduced for BP (see article) and Bates College employees lost weight using wearable trackers. Why would we push back on something that is designed to make us healthier?
11. Does your employer provide healthy food options in its canteen/restaurant? Does it offer gym membership? Are there any facilities for showering at your workplace? If your company proposed a treadmill desk, would you or your colleagues use them? Would peer pressure be enough for you to use/not use them?
12. Do you agree that what is driving the desire to monitor employees is 'big tech' companies, and not necessarily employers seeking to reduce costs? (After all, humans have been employees for thousands of years without the need for intrusive monitoring)
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Situation
In an effort to reduce employee absenteeism through ill health at AndrewCorp, the CEO (your teacher) wants to introduce wearable health trackers to the workforce as a means of improving productivity and employee health. As the chief representative of said employees, make your concerns known to the CEO.
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Discuss quotes
“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
― Lao Tzu
"A consultant starts by offering a 'solution' and creates a problem.”
--- Nassim Taleb
"The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free."
--- Nassim Taleb
"Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them."
--- Alfred North Whitehead
“If you read someone else's diary, you get what you deserve.”
― David Sedaris
Student Handout PDF: Track Your Health
Photo: Pearlsband
