We often hear about data protection for consumers, but I came across an article today that highlighted issues in the world concerning privacy protection for employees, which I would argue is equally important. It was discovered that retailer, H&M, had been collecting employee information digitally after a data leak occurred. Supervisors were conducting employee interviews upon their return from sick or vacation leave. Information regarding symptoms of illnesses, family issues, and religious beliefs were recorded digitally by supervisors, which was found to have been in violation of the civil rights act.
I’m not too sure what long-term benefits can possibly come from storing this kind of data, but I’m hoping this case prevents huge retailers from making the same mistakes in the future. I think everybody deserves a right to their personal privacy and shouldn’t need to disclose every detail of their lives to their place of business. What do you think of this case? Are there good reasons for keeping this kind of information I might be missing? Let me know in the comments!
I think it has a lot to do with Big Data Analytics. With all the different tools available now, such as machine learning and A.I., companies want to have every tiny datum they can find to see how they can improve efficiency, whether that means hiring or not hiring certain types of people based on this type of information, or what qualities should lead to promotion or termination. I see it as corporate Moneyball where companies are looking at everything to try and find hidden value or see where they can trim the fat.
It’s certainly unethical and unfortunately this is more about profit than it is aiding employees in any way.
Wow - this is very interesting. They were collecting personal information about their own employees and using it to evaluate the employee’s performance. Pretty messed up they were using information such as religious beliefs and illnesses against them - what a toxic work environment. TheBrain also made some interesting points about different ways companies are leveraging big data to “trim the fat” and seek out qualities that they think mean good employees. Sad that employees are almost looked at as machines to improve efficiency instead of people trying to earn a living.