Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers • Hacker News Board

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

#131

Post by wayoutthere » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

CPLX wrote: post #66

wayoutthere wrote: post #3

Mark Cuban got it right last week when he said that the way companies treat their employees over the next few months will define their brand for the next several decades. Companies insisting on this level of control are simply adding cost now and making employee retention difficult for when we end up coming out of this. If your company can't handle ground-level employees having some autonomy in their work, then your…

> If your company can't handle ground-level employees having some autonomy in their work, then your business model isn't likely to survive. > Besides, given the extraordinary circumstances I don't think it's fair to expect everyone to be equally productive to being in the office. It's worth noting that you're describing a very specific subset of the world of employment, namely people who work with some degree of auto…

I'm only describing the kind of jobs that can be done from home since that's the topic of the article. I'm not expecting an auto mechanic to fix a vehicle over video chat :)

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

#132

Post by CPLX » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #110

CPLX wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If your company can't handle ground-level employees having some autonomy in their work, then your business model isn't likely to survive. > Besides, given the extraordinary circumstances I don't think it's fair to expect everyone to be equally productive to being in the office. It's worth noting that you're describing a very specific subset of the world of employment, namely people who work with some degree of auto…

I would be shocked if even half of the American workforce primarily works in an "at a desk" or equivalent type position. I'm curious about this but don't have time to look up numbers. It's hard to make a reasonable guess because while cities (and the offices within them) have the highest density, there could be a very long tail of factory, strip mall, grocery store, etc. jobs that would be higher per capita outside o…

Even in a city you're completely surrounded by people who don't have desk jobs. All the people who deliver stuff to your office, the maintenance staff, all retail and restaurant employees, law enforcement and fire/EMS, taxi and car service drivers, and on and on and on.

And that's just what's in an office district. Drive down the NJ Turnpike or something and count how many massive employment centers you see that are primarily not office jobs. Everything from the shopping mall to the refinery to the airport to the distribution center.

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

#133

Post by com2kid » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

Nasrudith wrote: post #89

wayoutthere wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think mental health and productivity is slipping for everyone for reasons unrelated to remote work as well. Namely there is a global pandemic, a good chunk of the economy is shut down, and the flaw of "many out of work and many working overtime" has been exacerbated. Not to mention the denial of many closed non-essential outlets.

I'll counter this with my enjoying the extra 90 minutes a day from no commute and how much healthier I'm eating by not going out to restaurants all the time. WFH means I can get up at noon and go stretch or workout and I have time to cook a real breakfast or lunch.

Stress levels are lower, my back feels better, and my home workouts are going great!

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

#134

Post by karatestomp » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

sheeshkebab wrote: post #16

“ Frost declined to comment on whether Garrabrants, one of America’s top-paid bank CEOs in 2018, is subject to the same monitoring when he works from home.” Tells it all pretty much...

A lot of “very important” employee-control bullshit suddenly doesn’t matter when the person in question is in a C-level or board position. See also: piss tests, limits on doing other work while with an employer. Very important you’re sober as a judge and giving your company your undivided productive output—unless you’re CEO, then, a weekend habit or two and you’re involved with four companies at once in some capacity? Sure, go nuts.

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

#135

Post by shostack » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:02 PM UTC

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…

As a silver lining it sounds like you rapidly improved your company's security practices.

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

#136

Post by ilikehurdles » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:02 PM UTC

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.

I've only been a professional for 8 years but I've never had this experience as a developer.

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

#137

Post by uoaei » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:03 PM UTC

qwerty456127 wrote: post #106

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…

> 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 > The irony was that I was probably the most productive person in that office (in my humble opinion). The easiest and the most efficient way to ruin my productivity is to look at my screen. I can't work (nor can I pee - a funny coincidence, that's called "paruresis") when s…

Same here -- until recently the door nearest my desk was the one the CEO would use to enter/leave the office. The first thing you see when you open that door is my 21" screen, and it was nerve-wracking the whole time. Now that I'm home I'm so much more relaxed, and way more productive as a result.

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

#138

Post by lovich » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:04 PM UTC

trhway wrote: post #81

spamizbad wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised cubicles get so much hate. I loved mine at my first job. Oodles of desk space. Locking drawers and cabinets. There was a chair in the corner so a guest could sit. Made it easy to have 2 meetings without disturbing people. less aesthetically pleasing in office photographs, but overall a much better work environment than any open plan I've experienced.

>I'm surprised cubicles get so much hate. cubicles were a step down from individual offices, and was the manifestation of commoditization of the software engineering. The transition from cubicles to open offices was the part of that process going even further. Basically blue collar workers of 196x on a large factory floor. One would think that we've reached the peak of bad offices ... Well, i think some form of verti…

Its called hotdesking and there are definitely some startups selling solutions to organize this

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

#139

Post by flanbiscuit » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:04 PM UTC

We need a tutorial on how to detect if you're being monitored like this. As an employee I would like to know just so that I'm aware. I don't necessarily think my company is doing this but it would still be great if there was some kind of a way to at least know.

It's a given that any company you work for has full and complete access to your work email and private Slack workspace messages(DM or private channel). Same goes for MS Teams or anything else similarly paid for and/or run by the company.

I would especially like know if they were doing something like:

- keystroke logging

- taking screenshots at intervals

- process monitoring

- deep packet inspection

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

#140

Post by Symbiote » Mon, Mar 30, 2020, 5:05 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #90

lodovic wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The toilet is company equipment, too.

There is an expectation of privacy when using the bathroom though. There isn't when using a company issued computer, your employeer controls all the software on it, controls the network traffic - why would anyone have an expectation that what they use it for remains private? It's like there's no expectation of privacy when using an industrial lathe - it's meant for a specific purpose, if you use it for private purpos…

If I take a personal note using a company-issued pen, must that be disclosed to my employer?

It's not black and white, and many people will have some expectation of privacy when using company-provided equipment.