Big Brother is watching you work…
Apps and usage. Websites visited. Screenshots. Mouse movements. Keystrokes. Webcam and microphone access.
Employee monitoring software, aka Bossware, is gaining adoption. It works like the screen time software on your phone—and gets even more intrusive.
Why now?
Most employers couldn't trust remote work until it helped us survive a pandemic.
We made it work then, but employers today still find it difficult to trust their employees.
During the pandemic, bossware companies recorded up to 300% in user growth. Today, more than 60% of US companies use software to monitor their employees.
Some even make it their condition to work from home.
How should you respond to this? It depends.
1. Does everyone know they're watching?
An employer who is transparent about using bossware to hold everyone accountable will have little to no issues with healthy policies in place.
Are we monitoring to better understand and improve workflow? Or do we feel better when employees look busy?
Data is innocent and could support your bias if you're looking for faults to find.
Without trust, remote work won't work. Bossware works and works best when employees are in on it too.
Don't sneak it into their office computer.
2. Employees do their best work with clear metrics and predictable outcomes
The most productive remote employees, consultants, and contractors already use similar tracking software to self-manage.
Bossware takes away that autonomy and puts them in an assembly line mind state. Each employee should give your business structure through strong teams.
Is the goal maximum productivity?
Bossware will remind employees that their boss is watching. It becomes the metric for "good" work; not its quality or relevance, but that they were on seat.
3. Bossware metrics are not impact metrics
Not all workdays will cost 8 hours. Is the goal excellent execution?
See team productivity as a three-way street between the individuals, the workload, and the delegation. Teams become easier to manage that way.
Bossware could work better with anonymity, helping you monitor employee well-being through productivity metrics.
Burnout and quiet-quitting don't happen overnight. Employees will score low on productivity when they feel too restricted, by workload or policies.
Employees might hesitate to tell a manager, but their teammates will notice.
Conclusion
When managers spend most of their efforts motivating people, companies will get only low-quality work and people fired. It means there’s a clog in the system.
Sure, good talent is hard to find, but so are good companies. Can employers truly trust employees?
We actually love to work—when the processes and outcomes are clear and valid to us. We won’t need our big brother’s supervision.
The strongest teams (remote, in-office or hybrid) hire well, onboard well and promote personal and team responsibility in each employee.
Figma quotes, “Nothing great is made alone”, and strong teams are no exception.
Transition to sustainable remote work with HRQ.
Also published here.