The internet of things deployed for occupational health and safety purposes: A qualitative study of opportunities and ethical issues

by Maeva El Bouchikhi, Sophie Weerts, Christine Clavien

The deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology (connected devices enabling algorithmic analysis of behaviour and individualized feedback) has been growing increasingly over the last decades, including in the workplace where they can serve occupational safety and health (OSH) purposes. However, although the IoT is deployed for good aims, the use of these devices raises numerous ethical issues which have had little literature specifically dedicated to them. To fill this gap, we have investigated the ethical views of key stakeholders on the deployment of IoT for OSH. We conducted a focus group and semi-structured interviews including 24 stakeholders and analysed transcripts with an open coding method. Participants were favourably disposed towards the use of some versions of IoT (posture-tracker chair, step-tracker watch), but rejected other devices (sound-tracker on computer). They highlighted an important number of ethical issues which could be grouped into five overarching categories: goal relevance, adverse side effects, role of employees, data process, and vagueness. Their inputs were remarkably coherent with the issues highlighted in the academic literature. They also felt quite disenchanted and shed a stark light on the lack of information at the disposal of stakeholders in the front line to assess such technology. Our results provide important ground material on which to base necessary and still-awaited guidelines and regulation instruments.