There are gazillion factors that set us apart from other species. However, few are as fascinating as looking for ethical value in everything. The idea of separating right from wrong across a wider spectrum has stayed amongst humans for centuries now. There have surely been a fair amount of exceptions over this course of time, but from a holistic standpoint, ethics remain as an integral part of human culture. Of course, it doesn’t mean that its definition hasn’t changed at all since the concept came into existence. In fact, every generation’s attempt to come up with their own version of ethics is well-documented in the history books. Now, even though we put a lot of stock in our moral stance, as touched on above, we do tend to deviate from it at times. On certain occasions, these lapses appear with a serious backdrop behind them, thus setting the stage for some far-reaching undesirable consequences. In order to curb or avoid these scenarios, many regulatory bodies dedicate themselves to monitoring all the operations taking place within their domain. As you can imagine, keeping track on such a scale can be challenging and even unfeasible in some cases, but with technology’s use getting increasingly extensive, things look poised for a much-needed changeover. The amalgamation of technology with governance, risk management, and compliance has so far given all the right impressions. Nevertheless, in a weird turn of events, regulators recently found themselves pitted against the very thing that promises to be their future.
After much deliberation, California Governor, Gavin Newsom has officially signed on a bill that would block Amazon and other companies from punishing the workers who are unable to fulfill certain performance metrics due to rest and meal brakes. These performance metrics have been put in place by organizations to boost productivity; however, the model was quick to stir controversy. Many workers complained that the algorithmically-enforced metrics discouraged them to even take any bathroom breaks. On the other hand, warehouse authorities also reported record number of injuries.
It must be noted that the bill never explicitly pointed out Amazon, but with all the scrutiny Amazon has gained due to questionable working environment, the e-commerce giant is expected to take the biggest hit from it. Apart from ensuring that the workers are getting necessary breaks, the bill has also mandated companies using these types of metrics to create more transparency by educating the employees and regulators about their performance quotas. With business groups already banding together to object the new law, it remains to be seen how things eventually shape up.