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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

#191

Post by jawilson2 »

lmilcin wrote: post #11

Two sides of the story. One: people that are doing this are likely to have already been bad bosses. I don't think this changes anything. Two: I work for a large bank. My director, on a town hall, told us they do understand that not everybody will be able to focus on the job as before and that they expect us to spend less time actually working and be unavailable more often. Then he URGED us to actually do so. To take…

I work at a trading firm in Chicago, and it has been the same for us. They've been very understanding, and have welcomed barking dogs and crying babies in the background during our standups over zoom.

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

#193

Post by hbosch »

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…

Disagree. There are far more reasons for people to not be productive in the office than at home. Making excuses to get coffee, the need to go out for lunch, the drive-bys and time lost walking to/from meetings, moving up and down floors... if the main motivator in your work is the fact that people can swing by and look over your shoulder, then yeah, you're better in an office.

At home I wake up and log on at 8am. In the office, my 1.5 hour commute puts me in the office at 10am on a decent day. Because I have a kid and a pregnant wife, I cut out of the office around 4 every day because that's the only reasonable way I can get home and eat dinner with my family before my kid goes to bed... but when I'm WFH, I'm often staying online past 5 and sometimes 6. To me, the difference is literally more time spent working and more time spent seeing my child vs. spending 3-4 hours commuting daily and going day-long stretches without my one year old seeing me with her own two eyes.

Working from home, I can stay productive during meetings without bothering anyone -- I can mute myself, if it's one of those meetings, and keep working.

I think anyone who fails to be as productive, or more productive, from home is someone that doesn't like their job very much. I'm lucky that I enjoy the product I work on, and I enjoy dressing comfortably and eating lunch with my wife, and drinking my own coffee, and instantly joining/disconnecting from meetings, and physically distancing myself from "drive-bys" that my production is up.

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

#194

Post by npongratz »

treis wrote: post #129
freehunter wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cubicles got so much hate because they were worse than private offices that came before them. Now open floor plans are getting hate because they’re worse than cubicles so rose-colored glasses makes cubicles the nostalgic dream.

I don't think there was ever a time where every office worker had their own office. Only the big boss got their own office and everyone else had desks in a large room. The open floor plan we have now is pretty typical of what they used to look like. Here's a good example: https://www.officemuseum.com/1935_Auditor_of_Overcharge_Clai... More pictures: https://www.officemuseum.com/photo_gallery_1930s_1940s.htm

That's interesting, but I'm unsure how much we can generalize from some photos. For example, I wonder how much "photogenic bias" [0] and survivorship bias exist in such photographic evidence. How many photographers of the time would take a picture of a hallway of private offices? And what editor would keep such photographs for posterity?

[0] There's probably a better term for this...

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

#195

Post by fulafel »

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…

Whether there is an expectation of privacy in toilet or on the computer is culture dependent.

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

#196

Post by jlarocco »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #58
californical wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

And if you don't, you generally don't get employed.

That's not true.

I've been working in software for almost 20 years and have never had spyware like this installed on my PCs. I've worked for companies with over 70k employees, down to start ups with fewer than 100. Both in office and remote.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's definitely not normal, and I would personally never work under those conditions.

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

#197

Post by rovr138 »

ilikehurdles wrote: post #136
ianai wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

But not criminal (assuming it’s their equipment).

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

#198

Post by wilsonsilva80 »

cortesoft wrote: post #57
lmilcin wrote: post #11

Two sides of the story. One: people that are doing this are likely to have already been bad bosses. I don't think this changes anything. Two: I work for a large bank. My director, on a town hall, told us they do understand that not everybody will be able to focus on the job as before and that they expect us to spend less time actually working and be unavailable more often. Then he URGED us to actually do so. To take…

Yeah, I think bosses who freak out about people not being productive while working from home underestimate how much people can avoid being productive while physically at work.

Exactly. I don't do it on purpose but there are too many unnecessary meetings while at work. I'm being at least twice as productive at home.

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

#199

Post by koheripbal »

cortesoft wrote: post #57
lmilcin wrote: post #11

Two sides of the story. One: people that are doing this are likely to have already been bad bosses. I don't think this changes anything. Two: I work for a large bank. My director, on a town hall, told us they do understand that not everybody will be able to focus on the job as before and that they expect us to spend less time actually working and be unavailable more often. Then he URGED us to actually do so. To take…

Yeah, I think bosses who freak out about people not being productive while working from home underestimate how much people can avoid being productive while physically at work.

...at the same time - it can be pretty difficult to remain focused at home, especially if you also have kids at home because their schools are closed.

I doubt my efficiency is approaching even 50% of what it was a month ago.

Everyone is different.

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

#200

Post by gambiting »

lima wrote: post #178
gambiting wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>If private use of the work computer is expressly permitted to the employee, PC monitoring at the workplace is fundamentally excluded. Cool. In most places that are not fancy IT companies where everyone is given a brand new MacBook Pro to use as a mixed work/personal machine, there is no such thing as "private use of the work computer". So given what you posted, there is no legal issue then.

How would a "mixed work/personal machine" not imply private use of the work computer?

It would. I said most people aren't provided with those. You sit at your desk and are given a machine to do data entry/accounting/etc all day long, not for private use.
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