Shawnee Love   •  
February 22, 2013

The future is coming whether we like it or not, but I have to say this article scared the bejesus out of me and I don’t say bejesus very often, so you know I am serious.

Now I am not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but I didn’t get far in my thinking about ubiquitous genetic testing to see how it could be used and abused in a work setting.

How wonderful in hiring to have a genetic test that could help find people who are physically and mentally a perfect fit for the role or that have less risk of being hurt doing it.  For example, I have worked for companies that innovate new consumer products.  Hiring people to taste newly innovated products can be a challenge but imagine if through genetic testing you could guarantee the ability to distinguish flavours.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to know for certain that astronauts and fighter pilots have the ability to handle high pressure situations or that people who apply to be teachers, judges, police officers, politicians, jail guards, border guards, preachers, etc. have a low risk of addictions (or what about less likely to be corrupted by power)?

But of course with that great power also comes great responsibility because as an employer, you also might find out that an applicant is pre-disposed to high cholesterol, a heart condition or diabetes.  Since those conditions place a huge burden on benefits costs not to mention are indicators of future health (and attendance), all else being fairly equal, you might pick a candidate who showed lower risks in those areas.

Additionally, if you find out an employee has a pre-disposition to a serious disease that is hereditary, you don’t even have to test the genes on the employee’s children if they apply in the future!  Too risky.

Of course pre-disposition doesn’t guarantee anything but once the stigma is there, it is difficult to overcome.  Believing is seeing after all.

What do you think about genetic testing? How about in the workplace?