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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

#251

Post by vsareto »

spamizbad wrote: post #12
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'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.

Give me a decent size office over that any day.

I don't think most tech workers have really had a proper office.

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

#252

Post by VectorLock »

bmn__ wrote: post #243
VectorLock wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the legality of this? Is this just an "opinion" that a company covered by GDPR could choose to implement or not implement?

This has been part of labour protection laws all across Europe for decades.

Sorry I'm not very familiar with European labor protection laws. Which ones cover privacy concerns on workplace computers?

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

#253

Post by ravenstine »

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…

I'm only like that because I know that someone looking at my screen will either misinterpret what they are seeing or they will ask a question that requires a lengthy answer(a domain they have little understanding over yet is under their authority), so my brain goes into overdrive trying to figure out how to answer them in a way that gets them to go away as soon as possible.

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

#254

Post by majkinetor »

stronglikedan wrote: post #155
simias wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the EU there is. For instance the company can't normally access directories or emails clearly labelled as "private". Monitoring can occur but it's pretty tightly regulated. See for instance https://gdpr.report/news/2017/11/17/5383/ > * Employers can monitor employees’ emails at work but need to approach this with caution and careful consideration. > * Follow the ICO Code and 29 WP opinion, including conducting a D…

Thanks for the answer. TIL. However, I must say that's just weird to me, because you're not required to use company resources for private matters. The bathroom analogy doesn't really hold in my mind, since it's reasonable to expect privacy in any bathroom, but I see where you're going with that.

You might be required to use company resource for private matters depending on what you do. You can't really choose when some of the private things will happen that need immediate reaction.

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

#255

Post by adwww »

cheeze wrote: post #26
usui wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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"

> this would be illegal in EU

Not quite, but privacy rules that protect employees from overzealous employers are common in most European nations (EU or not), to varying degrees.

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

#256

Post by jedberg »

prostheticvamp wrote: post #9
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 think less than 5% of comments on open-office design, that I have ever seen, were positive. Who are the people you are describing as being “sold”?

I loved the open office I worked in (as an IC).

When I worked at reddit, we all sat in a single conference room in the corner of the Wired office. There were five of us doing engineering. A huge whiteboard on one wall (with a couch underneath for naps), windows on two walls, and the fourth wall was the door.

It was great. We all had headphones so we could work when we want. When some people needed to collaborate on the whiteboard, we just got up and did it. Usually everyone else ended up joining in, unless they were already deep in their work and didn't notice.

It was the perfect balance of collaboration and privacy.

But it probably worked so well because "the boss" was more like a peer, so you didn't feel watched. He was working on code right beside you.

And when we played games, it was great because you screen cheat off of Steve and he couldn't tell. ;)

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

#257

Post by wmu »

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…

> The irony was that I was probably the most productive person in that office (in my humble opinion).

It's a cognitive bias. I'm pretty sure I came across such example in Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow".

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

#258

Post by Tomte »

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…

For a time at an old employer I had a desk with a glass wall directly behind me.

On the other side of the glass wall was the pause room, with the coffee machine and everybody gathering. That felt really awkward.

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

#259

Post by jdbernard »

dylan604 wrote: post #217
hbosch wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I think you are greatly ignoring employees with children. It is hard for a 4 year old to understand that when mom & dad are home that it is not a work day. They just want to spend time with mom & dad. In addition, the only thing they know of computers is playing games, so it is hard to see mom & dad on a computer doing "work". Think of the most annoying co-worker you've dealt with constantly coming up to you and aski…

The best and most effective way I've found to do this is to have a door that you can lock and a partner who can reassure the kids that dad/mom still cares but is just busy when the door is locked.

Of course, people who were not already setup for working remotely may not have a door they can lock and partner who can reassure.

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

#260

Post by wayneftw »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #211
wayneftw wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m pretty sure it can also mean that you’re buying something that you don’t need because you’re in a panic. Where did you get the official definition?

> Panic buying: the action of buying large quantities of a particular product or commodity due to sudden fears of a forthcoming shortage or price increase. https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+panic+buying

Great! So it actually fits this situation wherein a large quantity of spyware has just been purchased...

the price increase being the amount they're paying for their workers productivity.

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