Probably. There’s a very good chance that your organization is doing it—right now.
The Wall Street Journal on August 22 carried results of an IDC global survey of 816 organizations with more than 500 employees.
The results shocked me.
Almost half (48%) of the organizations were currently deploying employee-monitoring software. And in a regional breakdown, 68% of North American companies were doing it!
Not so new? I’m a little behind. Turns out that before the pandemic, roughly 30% of large employers already were using some form of employee monitoring.
What tools are they now using?
The Washington Post on Oct. 17 explained how special software wasn’t needed for some kinds of monitoring. For example:
- Microsoft 365 can provide data on how many emails workers sent, how many files they saved, how many messages were sent, and how many video meetings they participated in.
- Google Workspace allows administrators, for security and audit, to see how many emails users sent and received, from where users joined meetings , and access to the content of emails and calendar items.
- Paid Slack accounts can provide data on how many messages have been sent over a set period.
- And good old Zoom can provide data on how many meetings users participated in—and whether the camera was turned on or off.
More specialized tools can do more. Companies sometimes use organizational network analysis to better understand who is communicating with whom. Another major employee-monitoring area is text-analytics. Are employees talking about changes in policies, or external factors, or what? Some tools claim to assess “trustworthiness” based on facial or voice analysis. And some employers are reportedly using software to look at screenshots of an employee’s computer, or even turn on a computer’s microphone or camera to observe and track.
All bad for employees?
Is there any upside for employees to all this monitoring?
Well, maybe. One of the management-side commentators quoted in the story pointed out that surveillance can allow people who don’t self-promote much to shine because of their good numbers. But another corporate leader commented dryly: “I think the benefits of workplace surveillance are pretty limited for employees.”
What can you do if you think your employer may be using monitoring in an inappropriate way—for example, tuning in on personal telephone conversations or covertly activating the microphone or camera on an employee’s computer?
For a starter, decide whether to accommodate or oppose. Find out, if you can, what your employer is monitoring. You may decide to adjust what you do in light of what is being surveilled and measured, turning the surveillance to your advantage by increasing your productivity as defined by the employer.
Or you can decide to oppose the monitoring—recognizing that there may be risks involved.
Some encouraging news: The IDC poll shows that 22% of the companies “deployed this…software but removed it due to employee pushback.” That’s 22%!!
You probably know what kind of pushback works best in your workplace—joining with others to make yours case; quiet individual conversations with bosses, etc.
A question to ask yourself: Is stopping certain monitoring worth the price of trying to do so? And what are your odds? What, if anything, is a reasonable “new normal” for employers trying to manage WFH, and what is egregious?
With a bad recession looming, you and other employees may not have as much clout as a year ago. Consider whether your type of skill is still in short supply—or the opposite. That will give you some idea of how well you’ll do seeking change—and what, if any, price you may pay.