Scientific article
OA Policy
English

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

Published inPloS one, vol. 19, no. 12, e0315671
Publication date2024-12-17
First online date2024-12-17
Abstract

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.

Keywords
  • Data management
  • Employment
  • Medical risk factors
  • Research ethics
  • Health services
  • Occupational health
  • Internet of Things
  • Ethics
  • Safety
Citation (ISO format)
EL BOUCHIKHI, Maeva, WEERTS, Sophie, CLAVIEN, Christine. The internet of things deployed for occupational health and safety purposes: A qualitative study of opportunities and ethical issues. In: PloS one, 2024, vol. 19, n° 12, p. e0315671. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315671
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315671
Journal ISSN1932-6203
61views
145downloads

Technical informations

Creation18/12/2024 17:11:08
First validation06/01/2025 17:01:46
Update time28/08/2025 15:09:44
Status update28/08/2025 15:09:44
Last indexation28/08/2025 15:09:45
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack