Many Employers Are Using Tools To Monitor Their Staff's Web-browsing Patterns, Keystrokes, Social Media Posts (theguardian.com)

Olivia Solon, reporting for The Guardian: How can an employer make sure its remote workers aren't slacking off? In the case of talent management company Crossover, the answer is to take photos of them every 10 minutes through their webcam. The pictures are taken by Crossover's productivity tool, WorkSmart, and combine with screenshots of their workstations along with other data -- including app use and keystrokes -- to come up with a "focus score" and an "intensity score" that can be used to assess the value of freelancers. Today's workplace surveillance software is a digital panopticon that began with email and phone monitoring but now includes keeping track of web-browsing patterns, text messages, screenshots, keystrokes, social media posts, private messaging apps like WhatsApp and even face-to-face interactions with co-workers. Crossover's Sanjeev Patni insists that workers get over the initial self-consciousness after a few days and accept the need for such monitoring as they do CCTV in shopping malls.

Comments

Re:Well duh.

[phayes]

NOT Illegal. Companies just need to get signed authorisation that there is a company policy for this kind of stuff and make sure that all employees sign it. Don't want to sign it? Access to the company networks is refused. Need network access to do your job? Sign the damn paper.

There are a few off-limits categories though: Banking & Health among them that must be whitelisted to avoid being swept into the monitoring.

Re:Well duh.

[AmiMoJo]

In the EU you can't be forced to sign away your basic rights like that. Giving up basic rights to keep your job is not considered a choice anyone should have to make.

Re:Well duh.

[Maritz]

People more accustomed to the american indentured servitude model are always confused by the idea that employees in europe are not utterly powerless like they are.

Re:Well duh.

[Maritz]

Yeah because that's your two options. Hire people and not have them produce anything, or hire people and stick a camera in their fucking face.

Productive employees are employees that are treated like fucking adults. Treat them like children and they act like children. You won't understand that because the american employment model is fucked in the head.