The store recently began the process of installing a new time clock machine where you have your fingerprint taken and then you punch in for work using your fingerprint. The rumor going around was that one of the reasons for switching to the new time clock system was to prevent one employee from clocking in for another employee. I believe this is something called "time theft." The idea is that if someone is running late for work or is unable to punch in on time for some reason they could have a friend who is already at work punch in for them--but using fingerprints would prevent this. This new system may not seem like a big deal but something was bothering me and at first I couldn't figure out what it was that bothering me so much. After I thought about it for a while I think what bothers me is the underlying message it sends to all the employees. I think it says very clearly, "We don't trust you." It's like there's a presumption that all employees are out to steal from the company--whether it's "time theft" by having another employee punch in for you or another type of theft. Well--if the headlines in the news are any indication it's the heads of corporations who are the ones stealing or taking home millions of dollars in bonuses after receiving a large financial bailout from the federal government (but that's a story for a different blog). Needless to say, it all just felt a little "Big Brother" to me.
The whole thing reminded me of another "job" I had in the retail industry. I put job in quotation marks because I worked at this job for about a week--I was miserable the whole time and left immediately when I got a job at the book store. This job was at Bath & Body Works and when you came in at the beginning of your shift you had to leave your purse with the manager and the manager locked it up somewhere in the backroom or the manager's office. Then when your shift was over you had to open your purse and show the manager the inside of your bag to make sure you hadn't taken anything--never mind, by the way, that for most of the day the purse wasn't even in your possession--it was locked up by the manager. (By the way I always thought that if I was going to steal something from the place where I worked--which I wouldn't-- I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to stick it in my purse...but whatever). So the presumption was that you were probably going to steal from the company at some point, so you had to prove to them that you hadn't taken anything from them. It was guilty until proven innocent! You weren't even permitted to have a place where you could put your personal possessions, like your purse, during your shift. You just had to blindly hand your personal stuff over to the manager--trusting, by the way, that the manager wasn't going to steal anything from you or go through your purse...but I guess Bath & Body Works wasn't so concerned with that, huh? And I don't mean to single out Bath & Body Works--it's a pretty standard practice in the retail industry to have your bags checked at the end of your shift before you leave--the bookstore did it too. To be fair and to play devil's advocate these procedures are in place because there are employees who do steal from their employers and companies face great financial loss every year from employee theft. But overall, I really believe most workers are honest people who are entitled to be treated with dignity and fairness. I do recognize that some of these policies are in place for a reason but I think when we follow them blindly without any question we give up some of our rights and some of our dignity as indivduals.
Anyway, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and to me having a company take your fingerprint so you can clock in for your shift has a similar vibe. Of course, it could just be that I am being old-school, anti-technology and anti-authority. What do you guys think?
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