It’s easy to feel disturbed these days, even if you’re still work from home.
more Technically incorrect
The notices are unchanged. The ping rings in your ears, leaving an annoying echo.
And then there’s spying.
As the pandemic hits, companies worry that they won’t be able to observe their employees the way they used to. They can’t see them, see how long it’s taken for them to eat lunch – or rest in the bathroom.
It’s frustrating being a boss and not having full control. You must have it, right? You are the boss.
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Powerful tech companies have come to deliver what these bosses really need – spyware that can remotely monitor an employee’s keystrokes and body movements.
Why, a technology company claims it can give bosses a productivity figure for every employee.
It’s great, now many people are (reluctantly) back to the officethose bosses usually extend the monitoring software there.
Because it makes the boss feel warm all over. And of course, because it’s a great cost-effective way to force employees to achieve increasingly high levels of productivity.
Or is it?
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You see, I went to some level of complete stagnation while reading a show up about monitoring software in The Wall Street Journal.
It describes the different levels of privacy provided by different types of software. It explains that Microsoft is one of those companies that doesn’t believe that simple operations translate into physical productivity.
But then it takes the views of two professors – Valerio De Stefano of Canada’s York University and Antonio Aloisi of IE University in Madrid.
They wrote a book called “Your boss is an algorithm. “So a lot of people must feel this is real now.
However, their harshest conclusion about surveillance software is undoubtedly the most painful for those who have to deal with it on a daily basis because they feel they have no other choice.
As Aloisi told WSJ: “Certainly no studies have shown that this increases productivity in any meaningful way.”
I’ve heard you mutter that science, like law, has always been too slow for the rapid innovations of technology. I hear others of you snort that this can happen, but wouldn’t it be nice to have objective, peer-reviewed evidence that surveillance technology makes people more productive?
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There seems to be some scientific evidence that the opposite may be true.
But, think of basic human psychology. Are you ever at your best when you know you’re being watched? Do you put out your best version knowing that every movement you make is recorded? It’s not easy to dance as if no one is watching.
Or maybe it’s because you’re most productive when you work for people who trust your talents and judgment?
There’s another aspect, too. What it says about managers’ management capabilities what if they had to constantly survey the people they managed? Could this indicate a lack of confidence in their management skills? Or even their lack of simplicity management skills?
I wonder who will invent monitoring software only be active for a certain period of time and then declare, “Yes, this employee can absolutely be trusted to continue on his own. Turn off monitoring now.”
That won’t at least have a chance to be productive?
