If body cams get cheaper and cheaper, companies might start asking more people to wear them while working.
E.g.: https://coloradosun.com/2024/07/31/youth-corrections-audio-surveillance/
I could see this for doctors, at restaurants, stores,, etc... eventually.
Are you ready to wear one?
EDIT TO ADD: A few people said this wouldn't ever make sense for doctors (privacy laws) or for fixed locations (stores). I should have thought of that.
But what about Uber / bus drivers, or repair people who go into homes? I can imagine a large corporation thinking a cam is a good idea, for their own CYA (not for the customers' or the employees').
Also I don't like this idea either, to be clear. I was mostly playing devil's advocate here to see what you all think. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Pretty much what I expected, tbh
The company you work for is not your friend. If it is their body can they will use it to their benefit. Any benefit you receive will be incidental or simply part if their propaganda to get you to wear it for them.
It will be used, primarily, to surveil employees. They will track your habits and ensure you are aware that every single thing you do for your shift is something your boss or their boss or their boss can come back to you with and reprimand you for. They will try to set performance targets that can be compared to your videos so they can tell you what an algorithm or a petty middle manager says you are doing wrong. Too much time helping a customer. You're not folding clothes fast enough. Walk faster. No sitting. They will set keywords. Union. Break. Curse words. Your bosses' names. They might not even review these things. The intimidation is enough. Maybe you'll get new policies. See that black guy? Follow him. Get video. The algorithm said to do it so it can't be racist. We'll pass it along to the cops.
Companies wouldn't pay for it if they didn't see a business angle and the obvious ones are control over employees and being able to use more video for "liability" defense.
are you ready to wear one?
I'm ready to make an elton john style jacket full of infrared leds
That depends... who controls the footage?
If it's my employer, absolutely not unless the job is high liability already because then it becomes a liability for me when somebody else controls my data.
If it's just for me, sure I would wear it if it's not too much trouble and I have concerns.
I might be wearing my own small, undetectable body cam, to protect myself against workplace harassment, racism, and unfair labor practices.
I'm a walking, talking landmine for those bastards. /S
Hell no. That would turn anything other than unflinching obsequiousness towards obnoxious clients and potential fraudsters into a firing offense. Specially in the already dystopian US job market.
Hell no, cops however should have less control over the cameras they wear.
I've actually considered it, mainly because it'd be useful for me to document what I do and how while keeping my hands free.
My job involves a lot of hardware troubleshooting, and when people ask me a year later when and how some specific issue was resolved, it'd be a whole lot easier to check the tape.
Yes, taking notes is possible, but when you're troubleshooting an industrial system, and downtime costs 40.000$ per hour, updating your diary isn't exactly a priority.
I don't really have much of a privacy aspect to worry about - the only time it'd be beneficial for anyone would be while doing field work, and at that time I usually have 10-20 people waiting on me anyway.
I haven't found a durable camera that I can wear discreetly, though.
body cams only make any sense when you're not in a fixed location and already always on camera, or when there's commonly abuses of power off camera. both are true of cops. neither are true of the cashiers at Hot Topic or whatever.
True. Today. But should have said I'm imagining a black Mirror future where things are so bad and the tech so cheap, that corps decide they want all employees to wear one, for their use.
In the linked article, public health workers are going to wear a cam so the govt can tell when they break rules, out in the field. I could see that kind of thinking expanded to other fields over time, no?
It occurs to me now that the cashier at hot topic is already being recorded. So good point.
I used to wear one on the railway. We had these ones that you switch on with a big, loud sliding clasp on it, so if someone starts acting a bit shirty, you could often deter them just by starting the recording (which held the previous 30 seconds or something in its memory).
Makes sense, especially if you trusted the organization to use the video to defend you, not just cover their own butts.
In the jobs I work at, no, I wouldn't. Body cams would only be used to snitch on people. It makes sense for surveillance to be used over people in positions of power like cops, doctors, prison guards, etc, who are known for abusing their power. Not against ordinary people or members of the public though. If retail workers wear bodycams, it's to snitch on shoplifters. If teachers wear bodycams it'd compromise kids who approach them to tell them something in confidence. Etc.
There are things that I do where a body cam would be useful, but I wouldn't wear it for office work.
