Walmart is interested in competing with Amazon on many levels. One of these would be gaining the title of the nosiest employer.

The U.S Patents and Trademark Office has recently approved Walmart’s request to have a system patented that would permit them to listen to everything that happens and is said by their employees at Walmart.

The surveillance system would have several sensors placed in the check-out area that would both collect and analyze anything it hears, ranging from a cashier bagging products to the customer-employee conversations.  This information would then be used by Walmart to evaluate their employees.

According to Walmart, introducing this new surveillance system would save them a great deal of money, while also giving customers a better experience.

A labor expert believes that their efforts would cause the opposite of what they are aiming for, explaining that research has shown that pervasive surveillance comes with a psychological impact.  It can cause employees to view their employer as dictators and can change their attitude.