While their bosses are no longer around the corner, remote workers are not free from surveillance.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies invested heavily in employee monitoring software to ensure their employees were still working when they were out of the office, according to a new survey by Resume Builder.
The vast majority, 96% of remote businesses use employee monitoring software. The trend accelerated after March 20, when just over 9% of businesses were using remote monitoring software.
The most common forms of employee surveillance include monitoring web browser usage and blocking specific apps and websites.
Some companies allow employees to be in front of the camera all day. Of the companies surveyed, 37.4% of companies require their employees to be in front of the camera. The survey also found that people tasked with watching their employees’ video feeds typically watch for two to six hours a day.
This type of monitoring will inevitably find unproductive or unsatisfactory employees. According to the survey, 73% of companies have fired at least one employee based on data found during surveillance.
However, many companies have laid off more than one. 34% of these companies laid off six to ten employees.
Intensive surveillance of workers also leads to layoffs. The survey found that 69% of companies had to fire workers because of a disagreement over monitoring.
“It’s not surprising that many employees don’t want to feel like big brother is watching them on a daily basis if they’re good employees and work hard for their organization,” said Stacie Haller, Resume Builder’s chief career advisor.
Despite complaints from employees, business owners believe that monitoring employees has improved productivity. Only 3% of companies don’t believe employee monitoring has increased productivity, with most (63%) or somewhat (34%) believing it has.
The survey also points to the future of online work.
“As managers become more comfortable managing a remote workforce, and as younger workers become managers and have worked remotely for more of their careers, hopefully software monitoring will become obsolete and the focus will be on results rather than hours,” said Ms haller
Source : www.washingtontimes.com