From organisations installing workplace sensors detecting when productivity dips, to incentivising sleep and fitness via a tracker designed for company use – the rise of innovative workplace incentives haven’t gone without scrutiny.
But how would you feel if your boss wanted to install a microchip into your hand; to make your working day easier?
CEO of Three Square Market, Todd Westby believes it’s the right thing to do.
He told CNBC: “We think it's the right thing to do for advancing innovation just like the driverless car basically did in recent months.”
The rice-size microchip intends to take away the inconvenience of a forgotten employee badge or credit card. For example, once an employee has the chip installed, he or she can purchase food in the break room, open doors and log into computers.
The firm will be the first in the US to use the device, which was approved by the FDA in 2004.
With ethical questions raised regarding technology monitoring employee activity, Westby stresses that the device isn’t going to be used for monitoring purposes. "Unlike your cell phone that is trackable and traceable pretty much no matter where you are, this device is only readable if you're within six inches of a proximity reader," he said.
He added that chances of the chip being hacked is "nil to none,” reassuring that “it is a very secure and safe device."
The company, which provides technology for break-room markets or mini-market kiosks, is anticipating over 50 employees to be voluntarily chipped.
The chip, which costs $300 (£230) per implant, is inserted with a needle between the thumb and forefinger and "barely hurts at all," he said.
Three Square Market's partner, BioHax International in Sweden, has already started using the microchips in about 150 of its employees.
Westby said he and his family will be chipped, too.
