Employee Monitoring

[JC-ChrisTate]

Hi Everyone,

Somebody recently sent me an article around employee monitoring. (link)

It explains that monitoring may be doing more harm than good and I'm inclined to agree.

Firstly, let me explain what I'm not talking about - I'm not talking about CCTV monitoring of remote employees for safety and I'm not really talking about things such as Internet content filters etc.

I'm absolutely not talking about tools that monitor employee happiness (or not) via surveys? (Think 15Five, Lattice etc)

What I am talking about is software that checks if the mouse is moving, if the screens are in focus, if the keyboard is being used etc?

I'm clearly not a fan of this, I think it shows a lack of trust in the employee for starters. Also, in this new world where we are working remotely I think a lot of jobs have become more outcome based than hours based. Honestly, I couldn't really care if you're at your desk at a certain time as long as the work is being done.

Let's hope we don't have to resort to Homer Simpson tactics.

What do you think? I'd love to know the thoughts of MSPs. Do you use such tools, or do your clients ask for you to provide them?

Let me know below.. 

[bgarrison]

I can happily say that I have never been exposed to his. However, my neighbor was telling me that her company (in the healthcare industry) installed some software similar to this. She told me they can monitor the mouse movements and that if your activity stops for a prolonged period of time, you get a call from your manager. 

My immediate reaction was to tell her to quit haha.

[JC-ChrisTate]

I think my advice would have been somewhat similar.

[BScott]

I used to work for a cell phone company that, although they didn't have keystroke logging, they did monitor how long you were on calls, how much time you took between calls, how much availability you had, average call time, break time, and so on. In fact, they told you when you could take a break or lunch, and you could not even go to the restroom unless it was one of those scheduled times without being penalized. Absences were an "occurrence" and too many of them would result in disciplinary action. Having your every move watched was 100% miserable and stressful. I hated it.

Bottom line? Don't do this to your employees.

[JC-ChrisTate]

Yes, I agree. Hardly the best way to motivate the employee.