As I take my morning walk, I often over hear people talking to their walking partners. What most of them seem to be talking about concerns their work place. Granted, I pick up only snippets of conversation, but it sounds as if most early-morning walkers in my neighborhood are actually multitasking, trying to figure out what’s wrong at work, how to fix it, whether that’s even possible, and, if it’s not, how to deal with it before going crazy and having to take mental stress leave. (I’m willing to bet that in this economy most of them aren’t eager to take such leave for fear of being stigmatized as a thin-skinned weakling).
I have long contended that people prefer a work atmosphere in which they feel safe, respected, and valued and that feeling safe comes first. We want to be certain that our employers are doing everything possible to keep us out of harm’s way. This includes sustaining an atmosphere that allows employees to preserve the good reputations essential for being employable.
How can a workplace interfere with reputation and work history? Let’s say a series of thefts have been discovered at your company in your division or department. Everyone within that division or department is automatically suspect, even you. Quickly ending the resultant atmosphere of anxiety and suspicion that threatens productivity and employee flight is essential. But how? Obtaining valid proof or evidence without disrupting workflow and causing even more damaging gossip and speculation is not so easy. Investigations take time and can be intrusive. What about starting with something as simple as fingerprint analysis? Currently, many occupations and situations require fingerprinting. But what if every job were to require prints on file? How would you feel about being fingerprinted every time you were hired or even applied for a job? I am not alone in thinking that only those with something to hide would probably object. Fingerprint comparisons are not perfect and the determination of a “match” is subjective and can vary with the “evaluator”, as everyone who watches crime dramas knows. But at this time they are the closest thing we have to conclusive ID and can eliminate the innocent as well as “ping” the possibly guilty.
Now I can hear the already overworked HR department staff sobbing ever so quietly that they cannot take on one more duty with ever-diminishing personnel and budget. Out-sourced HR vendors may not even have fingerprinting capability. Well then, how about a neutral third-party professional service that not only carries out the employee printing function but also safely stores the print files?
Reliable fingerprint banking sounds like a futuristic idea. But unfortunately it is already being done haphazardly -- there is no reliable standardized platform for non-criminal fingerprint files within the country, not even among law enforcement agencies. In this concept, the “print bankers” would collect and maintain access to fingerprints, assuring greater security than storage in company’s system. The print banker also keeps current on data governance procedures and can increase vigilance as mandated with no on-site disruption. As electronic files replace paper files and technology becomes simpler to use, the appetite for stored personal information will only continue to grow and will grow rapidly, according to a leading specialist in the security world.
If by now you’re lamenting that suspicion is ubiquitous, it’s hard to trust anyone, and it’s tough to feel safe anywhere, I empathize with you. Concerning anything even remotely deemed security, our technology is advancing at warp speed. So try not to be upset about being fingerprinted for a job. When the time comes that everyone’s DNA is in a database, fingerprints will have become obsolete, supplanted by DNA as a primary identification tool. Let’s just hope that our DNA storage is as secure as a fingerprint banking service.
