The coronavirus has brought new conditions to the workplace. More and more employees are now working from home and more and more employers are using surveillance software to make sure that work is being done properly.
The email came from the boss.
We're watching you, he told employees at Axos Financial Inc., who are now working from home. We're recording your keystrokes. We're recording the sites you visit. Every 10 minutes or so, we take a screenshot of your screen.
So work, otherwise you will face the consequences.
“We have seen individuals take unfair advantage of flexible working arrangements,” effectively taking vacations, writes Gregory Garrabrants, the bank’s chief executive. If daily tasks are not completed, employees will face consequences, which could even mean dismissal.
This situation is reminiscent of Big Brother, but it is perfectly legal for businesses to monitor their employees. Of course, digital surveillance has been used on office desktops for years, although many might consider surveillance software on employees' computers to be an invasion of their privacy.
Nowadays, many people work from home. However, many are not used to teleworking and are now forced to do so due to the coronavirus. When you are at home, there are many temptations: a midday nap or spending time with the children.
Employers justify surveillance software by saying that monitoring limits security, which can cause a lot of problems for the business.
With so many people working remotely due to the coronavirus, more and more employers are using surveillance software to conduct checks.
According to Brad Miller, CEO of software company InterGuard: “Companies are allowing their employees to work from home but are trying to maintain a level of security and productivity.”
An Axos spokesperson said that “the enhanced monitoring we have implemented will ensure that our workforce members working from home continue to meet the quality and productivity expected of all employees.”
In addition to InterGuard's monitoring software, employers also use software from the following companies: Time Doctor, Teramind, VeriClock, innerActiv, ActivTrak, and Hubstaff. All of these monitoring software allow for screen monitoring and measure productivity, observing things like the number of emails sent, so employers know that employees are doing their jobs properly.
According to the CEO of ActivTrak, requests for surveillance software have tripled in recent weeks. Teramind and innerActive have seen a similar increase.
With InterGuard's surveillance software, employers can be notified of suspicious behavior by their employees (such as printing a resume and obtaining customer, which may mean they want to resign and take the company's clientele).
“It is not due to a lack of trust”, said Miller, who compared surveillance software to the security cameras used by banks and other businesses.
Software can also be a way for employers to provide more flexibility to employees, so they can combine their work with other parts of their lives. It can also allow employers to identify where there is excess staff and where additional hands are needed.
“Honestly, as a user of Hubstaff software, I like the tracking and productivity features”, said Courtney Cavey, the company's marketing director. “Therefore, my personal advice is to use it as an advantage, as a way to prove to your manager that you are capable of working autonomously”.
Hubstaff allows users to see the scope of their activity. Most checks can be customized, so not all employees are monitored in the same way.
The problem is when employers use surveillance software to monitor devices outside of work hours.
Many employees express their complaints on forums, often using devices that are not monitored by their supervisors.
