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The danger here is that technology is increasingly giving us nearly cost-free methods (e.g. leveraging machine learning/ big data instead of human supervisors)
by jal278 12y ago
The danger here is that technology is increasingly giving us nearly cost-free methods (e.g. leveraging machine learning/ big data instead of human supervisors) to oppressively optimize profitability at the expense of human happiness.
While employers might always desire greater productivity out of their workers, the ability to finely track productivity by simple metrics gives them new leverage over workers, who have little recourse. While many jobs people do are inherently not fun, when a grocery bagger's job depends on scans per hour [0], the human element is drained.
There are also implicit costs that such metrics impose. "Scans per hour" creates a perverse incentive to ignore or feign ignorance at customer requests, call center quotas for conversions encourages lying to customers, etc.
[0] http://gawker.com/true-stories-from-wal-mart-workers-i-am-not-a-slave-908554609 http://gawker.com/true-stories-from-wal-mart-workers-i-am-no...
- dropit_sphere 12y ago" There are also implicit costs that such metrics impose." Indeed. "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
- zedadex 12y ago> to oppressively optimize profitability at the expense of human happiness - > Through these new means, companies have found, for example, that workers are more productive if they have more social interaction. So a bank’s call center introduced a shared 15-minute coffee break, and a pharmaceutical company replaced coffee makers used by a few marketing workers with a larger cafe area. The result? Increased sales and less turnover. In that instance it sounds like adding a 15 minute break would make employees happier, a possible contributing factor to reduced turnover. Optimizing doesn't necessarily put them at odds with happiness - decreasing happiness would increase turnover.