We've all joked about being tracked or monitored by our bosses, but usually there's no basis behind it.
However, one company in Wisconsin is about to take that to a whole other level.
Three Square Market (32M) is a technology company which specializes in mircomarkets for work spaces. Micromarkets are like a more sophisticated vending machine, allowing employees a wider variety of foods using a self-checkout.
32M is now offering free implanted microchip technology to all employees. The microchip itself will be no larger than a grain of rice, and it takes only 3 seconds to implant. According to 32M, the chip is completely approved by the FDA, and has been for 13 years.
"At Three Square Market, we pride ourselves on being leaders in technology and responsible innovation," the company released in a statement. "The chip is not trackable and only contains information you choose to associate with it. This chip does not have GPS capabilities."
So what, exactly, will the chip be used for then? Continue reading to find out!
The voluntary program, which 50 employees have already agreed to try, is aimed to eliminate cards, pages, and even money.
"RFID technology or Radio-Frequency Identification uses electromagnetic fields to identify electronically stored information," 32M says. "The RFID chip will allow employees to make purchases in the company's break room market, open doors, login to computers, use copy machines, among other things."
"We foresee the use of RFID technology to drive everything from making purchases in our office break room market, opening doors, use of copy machines, logging into our office computers, unlocking phones, sharing business cards, storing medical/health information, and used as payment at other RFID terminals," CEO Todd Westby said in a company statement. "Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc."
Westby says he'll be getting one of the microchips implanted, along with his two sons and his wife. As for the employees, they all seem pretty on board with it. Westby said there was "an overwhelming majority of people that said yes."
"It was pretty much 100% yes right from the get-go for me," said Sam Bengston, a software engineer for the company. "In the next 5 to 10 years, this is going to be something that isn't scoffed at so much, or is more normal. So I like to jump on the bangwagon with these kind of things early, just to say that I have it."
Would this be something you'd let your company do to you? Let us know.