The Motorola WT41N0 is a labour-saving device used by Tesco, Shoe Zone and other retailers. It is designed to increase accuracy and efficiency in warehouses. Connected to a network, the Windows-based microcomputer distributes tasks and tracks their completion. Wearing the device on the wrist or at the hip, the worker uses a finger-mounted scanner or voice-control headset to record activity. If an error is made they receive immediate feedback.

Devices such as the WT41N0 make possible a new type of work where the organisation of goods and deployment of staff is entrusted to a computerised system. Weighing less than 400g, it is ergonomically designed for prolonged use. Wearable technologies in the workplace hit headlines in February 2013 when newspapers revealed that the performance of warehouse workers was being monitored using data from devices like this one.


On 14 February 2013 The Telegraph newspaper published allegations made by a former employee at a Tesco distribution centre in Ireland. He claimed that data collected from wrist-worn devices was being used to grade staff performance, with those not meeting expectations being called before the boss. This story was the second in a week in the national press to draw attention to wearable computing devices and their impact on the work environment. On 8 February 2013, The Financial Times ran an article on working conditions at the eight Amazon warehouses located across the UK. Employees interviewed at the Rugeley site complained of the blisters developed as they strove to fulfil tasks allocated via handheld computers.