New technologies allow us to track everything: should your employer?

A short article from Popular Science reports how companies are using new technologies to track employee work habits and lifestyles in order to mold a better employee. Part of the age of new life tracking termed the 'quantified self', they reference three articles on the subject. Here is a list of what is being tracked:SleepDistance walked or runDietTime spent sitting at their desk"Happiness""Performance data" on how well employees communicate with each other and shoppers"Tone of voice, movement and even posture when communicating with others"It's not a long list, but we're at the beginning of the ability to track ourselves. How it meshes with corporate interest to maximize profits and an honest interest to help each employee maximize their potential will smack into the wall of privacy. Keep in mind there is a rich history of getting the most out of employees. In Japan, it is acceptable for workers to warm up before work:[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dosc-WWfraw]When employed in fields requiring physical conditioning such as the military and sports, it is normal for employees to submit to medical evaluation and regular coaching. In my youth, I spent the better part of a decade working on a sawmill and unloading UPS trailers. Decades later, I can feel the wear and wonder if warm-ups, cool-downs, and regular stretching would have helped. As a high school teacher and working at a university, there was not only no requirement for maintaining physical health, there was no official allowance for such time.As someone who is experimenting with these types of apps for my personal record, I realize my iPhone 5S has quite a range of sensor abilities. I also have friends and family who are provided modern smartphones by their employers: what might those employers choose to track? If they provide you a phone, should they have the right to enable these types of trackers by default? I know early Blackberry users who would leave the phone at work so there wasn't this expectation of off-hour response, what they must think today.Considering an average smartphone plan can cost $50+ dollars per month, would you be willing to accept a free phone if you knew it would track some of your lifestyle? If not, what would it take to get your buy in? Prizes might include free time for exercise, a nutritionist, a personalized exercise regimen or money back for insurance savings.Exercise has been proven effective for dealing with stress and thinking more clearly. Should there be a line drawn on whether you were hired for mental work, physical labor or sports military? How would you react if your manager or director called everyone in for squats and some yoga? Would you put on sneakers or call HR?