‘Smart’ cushion that reports staff absences to the boss prompts outrage online, and may be illegal
- When staff at Hebo Technology in Hangzhou, China, were given a ‘smart’ cushion the company had developed, they took it as a goodwill gesture
- The cushion monitors vital signs and tells them when to stretch, but also tells human resources if they are away from their desks. Internet users voiced outrage
A Chinese technology company is trialling a performance-monitoring scheme with an unusual method of boosting the bottom line – data gathered via “smart” cushions given to workers to place on their office chairs.
But the trial has backfired, after unwitting participants discovered the cushions they were gifted by bosses under the guise of goodwill, supposedly to monitor their vital signs, were in fact “spy” cushions that alerted managers when employees were away from their desks. The cushions could be illegal, a lawyer was quoted as saying.
A company administrator surnamed Wang posted about the cushions online, drawing an outraged reaction from internet users, who told the Hangzhou-based company, Hebo Technology, to “butt out” of monitoring employees’ movements.
Wang wrote on social media that she felt duped, having believed that the cushions given to her and to nine other employees were the company’s way of looking after their well-being. Able to monitor heart rate, breathing, fatigue and posture, the cushion also prompts workers to stand and stretch when they have been sitting too long.
The intention in giving the cushion to our staff is to collect more trial data, rather than keep watch on them
“I felt I was naked at work,” wrote Wang. “They seemed to install a monitor on me.