Lighter Side: Chip and skin – the next workplace perk?

Swedish employees are getting under-the-skin implants to ease everyday nuisances at work…

Depending on where you work, you may need a whole hoard of different devices to get you through your day – ID badge, office keys, swipe card – and that’s without remembering change for cafeteria or passcodes for computers.

So what if you could carry everything you needed in something as small as a grain of rice? It might sound tempting until you find out you have to have it implanted under your skin.

Well, some employees at Swedish office block Epicenter certainly aren’t fazed.

On the day of the building's official opening, the developer's chief executive was chipped live on stage and more than a few employees plan to follow suit.

Felicio de Costa, whose company is one of the tenants, simply holds his hand up to the door to gain entry. Inside, he does the same thing to get into his own office and can even wave his hand to operate the photocopier.

Employees with the tiny RFID (radio frequency identification chip) have also been promised greater benefits in the long run – including the ability to pay in the complex’s café.

"We already interact with technology all the time," one employee revealed. "Today it's a bit messy - we need pin codes and passwords. Wouldn't it be easy to just touch with your hand? That's really intuitive."

The employee also has his own electronic business card stored on his chip – it can be accessed with the swipe of a smartphone.

Are you tempted? Would you let your company place a tiny chip under your skin to save a few minutes every day? Share your thoughts below.

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