Technology, Power, and the Organization: Wearable Technologies and Their Implications for the Performance Appraisal

Ubiquitous technologies may offer interesting opportunities for both employers and employees to exert power within organizations with implications for workers performance improvement and assessment. However, along with these opportunities there are many hidden risks. Through a meta analysis concerning the adoption of wearable technologies at work, the chapter investigates the critical role played by such technologies in shaping power within workplaces and related opportunities for the design of workers performance appraisal systems. After a background analysis regarding the relationship between power, technology and the organization, an investigation of the use of wearable devices within organizations and their meanings with respect to issues of power follows. The chapter ends with a SWOT analysis concerning the implications of these digital tools for the design of workers performance appraisal systems, and conclusions and future research proposals drawn.