When we first started in lone worker safety some companies were against purchasing an automated system because any tracking device would be perceived as an antagonistic ‘Big Brother’ move by their employees.
This was often a big stumbling block for implementing Lookout Call because staff saw it as potentially limiting their independence, rather than enhancing their safety.
Over a decade later attitudes have definitely changed.
On the whole, staff don’t have the same level of hostility towards lone worker safety systems and the concern that they are being ‘spied on’ has largely disappeared.
This might be because technological advances over that time – GPS phones, social networks, etc. – have encouraged the sharing of personal information (including status and location updates). So, a solution like Lookout Call (a mobile-based lone worker safety system) seems far less alien for modern workers, who are accustomed to the concept of status updated in their personal lives.
This doesn’t mean that every employee will be happy using a lone worker safety system. But the argument that they are a Big Brother management tool seems to be raised far less than it was.