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Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#51

Post by GordonS »

nonbirithm wrote: post #34
GordonS wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they intended to listen, or indeed cared an iota about their employees, they wouldn't have rolled this out in the first place. This level of intrusive monitoring would very clearly be hated by those it monitored, and make then feel very uncomfortable. Seriously, in this day and age, how on earth did this get enough support at the management level to pilot it?

> Seriously, in this day and age, how on earth did this get enough support at the management level to pilot it? They valued maximizing the amount of profit one worker produces over privacy.

I rather doubt that miserable, downtrodden employees are more productive than happy, motivated ones are.

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#52

Post by crmrc114 »

uk_programmer wrote: post #18
quelltext wrote: post #12

> "Managers would never get away with breathing down employee's necks, personally monitoring their screens or logging toilet and water breaks," They wouldn't? Isn't that reality for a lot of workers?

This actually happens a lot in call centres. This is why I am very polite to those on the phones because I know they are likely to be working in a horrid office.

At least in the US I know a number of call centers that have been sued into bankruptcy for attempting to use phone agent login status as a timeclock. The worst of these were telling staff that they had to login to their computers and get everything ready on their own time... then they would be paid once they logged in... On another note, I feel that such abuses really need to start to incur jail time for management since abuses like this still seems to be pretty common in US Call centers.

To be honest (guessing from the 'UK' part of your username) I figured that the UK would have better call center protections than the US.... from your post it sounds like it may be just as bad as the US.

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#53

Post by akiselev »

wiradikusuma wrote: post #30

At work, my staff (20ish developers) usually clock in/out sharp bcoz of attendance, but they take 2+ hours lunch break and ~1hr for prayer breaks (2x within work hour), which I don't mind. But what frustrates me is their work is slow and low quality (not everyone), and I do thought about "short term" tracking like this. Thoughts? (I just joined, so I "inherited" this)

You're largely just going to lose the people that are genuinely trying but just aren't as productive for whatever reason and give legitimacy to those who aren't as honest who will learn how to game the metrics to defend their jobs. The former can be mentored and made more efficient, even with 2 hour lunch and prayer breaks, while the latter will just dig themselves deeper and cost the company more and more. Meanwhile, your best people who can find another job anywhere will leave immediately because they don't have to deal with the changes.

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#54

Post by wpietri »

peteradio wrote: post #29
ropiwqefjnpoa wrote: post #2

"The software, Sapience, claims to create "unprecedented transparency" within companies." The spin makes me dizzy.

It is transparency, it was always wrong to think that transparency is some universal good.

Nah. It's only transparent like a one-way mirror is: it lets the powerful watch the people they can control without being watched in return.

True transparency would make everybody visible to everybody, while making it just as clear who is monitoring whom. Often the problem isn't information, it's information asymmetry. In the offline world, we have a whole vocabulary for peeping toms, nosey parkers, eavesdroppers, busybodies, creepy starers, and outright stalkers. That's because observation is in itself generally observable, and can often be countered with social pressure. It's when, as here, that one group can observe without being observed or criticized, things can very quickly get ugly.

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#55

Post by OJFord »

riazrizvi wrote: post #32

> Campaign group Privacy International said: "Data protection rules are very clear, strict and do not allow employers to carry out such monitoring unless they are able to prove that this is strictly necessary and proportionate and it does not severely impact employees' rights. Is this an EU or UK thing? Does anyone know the law implied?

They'll mean the 'Data Protection' Act: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents/enacte...

But I'm not familiar to cite a specific section on needing to 'prove that this is strictly necessary and proportionate'.

See also: https://www.gov.uk/personal-data-my-employer-can-keep-about-... - the implication might be that the burden is on the employer to prove that it's not 'sensitive' data or it has permission, and that 'time away from computer' has implications for health & habits and is therefore 'sensitive'.

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#56

Post by greendestiny_re »

geddy wrote: post #3

> unprecedented transparency I think where they can go a step further here is to install Spy cams in all of the bathroom toilets so we know how much bathroom time is actually spent going to the bathroom, and how much is spent on cell phones. It may sound invasive but I'll bet the efficiency will go up and that's all that matters at the end of the day, right? Since efficiency can be broken down into money earned/lost,…

Already ahead of you: slanted toilet seat that causes leg cramps after a couple minutes.

https://www.today.com/health/new-toilet-design-aims-cut-your...

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#57

Post by quadrifoliate »

Stuff like this is common in the US. And newspapers are still amazed at why the socialist candidate is leading in the polls for one of the presidential election nominations.

Honestly, there is no fix for this sort of thing except through the political system. Corporations will keep pushing the boundaries on maximizing worker productivity because their CEOs get massive bonuses for squeezing 1% more work out of terrified employees like this. Even if the initiatives fail, they can always blame it on economic factors and get their golden parachute.

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#59

Post by fennecfoxen »

speedgoose wrote: post #39
factsaresacred wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'2 hours lunch break and 1hr for prayer breaks' and the work is low quality. You don't need to track those people, you need to replace them.

A 2 hours lunch break is the standard in France.

"You can't fire these people" is also the standard in France.

Also standard: a stagnant economy (~0.25% GDP growth on 0.18% population growth) and sky-high youth unemployment (20-25%).

Re: Barclays scraps 'Big Brother' staff tracking system within one week

#60

Post by banannaise »

GordonS wrote: post #13
jamestanderson wrote: post #5

> In a statement, the bank said: "We always intended to listen to colleague feedback as part of this limited pilot which was intended to tackle issues such as individual over-working as well as raise general productivity." Riiiight.

If they intended to listen, or indeed cared an iota about their employees, they wouldn't have rolled this out in the first place. This level of intrusive monitoring would very clearly be hated by those it monitored, and make then feel very uncomfortable. Seriously, in this day and age, how on earth did this get enough support at the management level to pilot it?

Easy. The people at management level aren't the ones being monitored. There's no cost to them. Easy to trade someone else's happiness for your own profits.

"Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

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