Workplace Technology Offers Mixed Bag for Managers, Unions

Employers and labor groups using new types of technology to get closer to workers, whether for safety and productivity purposes or to organize a union, could find themselves wielding a double-edged sword.

Some technology can protect both workers and their companies. For example, wearable sensors can prevent workers from overheating by measuring their temperature or warn them when their heart rate is too high. And text-scanning software downloaded to a work computer can flag employees when they may be sharing potentially vulnerable or costly information, like a Social Security number or private company data.

But that same technology can also ...