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Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

bloomberg.com

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Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#21

Post by thorwasdfasdf »

mc32 wrote: post #5

Two things: Productivity is going to plunge no matter what, with the possible exception of singles who don’t have roommates. There is no way that during an ad hoc and unorganized push to work remote (though necessary in this circumstance) can result in good productivity, monitoring or not. Under the best of circumstances it would take months for a mass of people to adjust and be productive. The apex for open office d…

I honestly believe I'm as productive now as I was at the office, not that it matters for gov work anyway.

I'm able to complete tasks just as well here as at the office.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#23

Post by californical »

ianai wrote: post #17
gvjddbnvdrbv wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where I live what he did is a fairly serious criminal offence.

It appears to be standard practice everywhere in corporate America.

It's standard practice if you agree to it in your employment contract.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#24

Post by mc32 »

wayoutthere wrote: post #13
mc32 wrote: post #5

Two things: Productivity is going to plunge no matter what, with the possible exception of singles who don’t have roommates. There is no way that during an ad hoc and unorganized push to work remote (though necessary in this circumstance) can result in good productivity, monitoring or not. Under the best of circumstances it would take months for a mass of people to adjust and be productive. The apex for open office d…

Single person with no roommates, I can confirm that my mental health is slipping and it's really hard to maintain a positive attitude at work. Productivity will slip and employers just need to adjust their expectations.

Yes I think employers who understand work dynamics know and expect a severe drop in productivity and work with that in mind.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#25

Post by sbarre »

gvjddbnvdrbv wrote: post #10
sbarre wrote: post #6

This happened to me years ago. I was put in an empty office at the opposite end from my boss, and because he couldn't walk up behind me to see me working, he secretly installed a program on my computer that took a screenshot every 30 seconds (or so?). I quickly noticed that my computer was hitching regularly (when the screenshot was taken - this was in the late 90s BTW), and so investigated my computer on a day when…

Where I live what he did is a fairly serious criminal offence.

Not in 1998 it wasn't.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#26

Post by cheeze »

usui wrote: post #20
adwww wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waves in European...

What does this mean?

adwww is implying that this would be illegal in EU (unsure if that is true or not) and is "greeting" the other poster saying "hey, I'm European too"

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#27

Post by code4tee »

We had a bad manager at my last company who really wanted to do this sort of thing.

I said to him “So this is an interesting proposal... if we install this software then I can save on management costs by replacing your position with this spyware?” He never brought it up again and we later just got rid of him completely.

Micromanagement and this sort of spying rarely builds high performing teams. Managing worker productivity is one thing but blatant spying is a sign of much deeper problems with a company and its management.

I’ve generally found a fairly strong inverse correlation between how good a manager is and the amount of paranoia they have on their teams not doing what they should. Good managers build great teams and then trust them.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#28

Post by gambiting »

gvjddbnvdrbv wrote: post #10
sbarre wrote: post #6

This happened to me years ago. I was put in an empty office at the opposite end from my boss, and because he couldn't walk up behind me to see me working, he secretly installed a program on my computer that took a screenshot every 30 seconds (or so?). I quickly noticed that my computer was hitching regularly (when the screenshot was taken - this was in the late 90s BTW), and so investigated my computer on a day when…

Where I live what he did is a fairly serious criminal offence.

Is it? What kind of crime would it fall under, and where is that?

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#30

Post by readme »

PSA for businesses: how about instead of spying on the deadweight you fire them and reward the productive employees.

There are tons of work from home employees (who normally work from home) who are 10x more productive than the in-office ones, because they realize the value of what they have.

It's too bad most people will only work when you're looking over their shoulder, but lets not keep that on life-support with spyware. Let it die and usher in a time when people actually take the initiative to do their work.

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