There is so much wrong with bossware.
Privacy issues.
Security issues.
Employee trust issues.
https://wideangle.co/blog/the-rise-of-bossware-and-threat-to...
Bossware is a big legal risk
111–120 of 227 posts
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not arguing against your points but I'm wondering if this is more a US related issue? I never heard this being a thing here in the EU but maybe it's just me being unaware of all the various situations. I don't know anyone who works from home (whether in tech and in other sectors) that has to deal with all that nonsense.
Germany reporting in, couldn't see that becoming a thing here. I have about 99% wfh currently, and if my employer would try to implement something like that, the union would probably not even have time to get involved because the works council ("Betriebsrat", not sure if that's a good translation) would swat it down instantly. It sounds insane, but believable for the US (but that might be my bias showing, I've always…
Yeah I’m in Italy and I don’t know anyone who’s dealing with all that nonsense that’s why I was wondering if this is a US thing.
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#113Everyone replying with "what's the big deal?" is showing their tech privilege. You may not have to deal with intrusive monitoring, but warehouse workers are increasingly being made to wear ankle bracelets so every movement of theirs can be monitored and stack ranked. Workers in WFH "gig" jobs are made to install always-on keyloggers and other monitoring software on their personal computers and phones (which are requi…
Not arguing against your points but I'm wondering if this is more a US related issue? I never heard this being a thing here in the EU but maybe it's just me being unaware of all the various situations. I don't know anyone who works from home (whether in tech and in other sectors) that has to deal with all that nonsense.
GDPR prevents most of this. There are rules about email snooping, for example: https://www.edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/r...
(presumably someone will be along to say that this is the EU destroying businesses by not allowing them 100% power over the lives of their employees)
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
So you are okay with giving random companies an hour of footage of your face and part of your house just for the privilege of going through their automated screening round?
Emm, yes? What do you think they are going to do with it. They are also considering giving you access to potentially a vast amount of their IP and maybe even customer data.
Why would they need to give me this for a screening round? Do they expect me to do actual work for them?
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#115Everyone replying with "what's the big deal?" is showing their tech privilege. You may not have to deal with intrusive monitoring, but warehouse workers are increasingly being made to wear ankle bracelets so every movement of theirs can be monitored and stack ranked. Workers in WFH "gig" jobs are made to install always-on keyloggers and other monitoring software on their personal computers and phones (which are requi…
Last year when I started looking for jobs I landed a job in a company that did consulting services. All looked fine on the outside, but when I joined I found out they are doing software for this kind of stalking, and even use AI to classify employees as "productive", "not productive", and other criteria based on their computer's activity.
I noped the hell out of there without even having spent a week working for them. The fact that they even accepted those kind of jobs told me our sense of ethics was way too different, and I didn't want to contribute to that. If it were "just" web tracking, then I would be able to (barely) accept it, if a bit reluctantly. But that's more or less where I draw the line.
I still haven't found a job since then, and I'm currently barely surviving through freelance gigs. Professionally speaking, leaving that job might have been a mistake; but I still think it was the correct decision.
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was asked to be recorded answering three stupid questions like "what motivates you?", "why do you want to work here?" etc. before attending a multi-stage interview. I never got invited to that interview, and I did wonder if I could take them to court, because my CV showed me as good fit for the job (literally ticked all the boxes), but they clearly rejected me based on the video. (In case you wonder why I thought I…
Perhaps during the video they discovered that they didn't like you.
[deleted]
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#117Everyone replying with "what's the big deal?" is showing their tech privilege. You may not have to deal with intrusive monitoring, but warehouse workers are increasingly being made to wear ankle bracelets so every movement of theirs can be monitored and stack ranked. Workers in WFH "gig" jobs are made to install always-on keyloggers and other monitoring software on their personal computers and phones (which are requi…
Last year when I started looking for jobs I landed a job in a company that did consulting services. All looked fine on the outside, but when I joined I found out they are doing software for this kind of stalking, and even use AI to classify employees as "productive", "not productive", and other criteria based on their computer's activity. I noped the hell out of there without even having spent a week working for them…
I'd have done the same, and have done before when I've found myself on client projects related to online gambling (the business model is to milk addicts for everything they have and more, don't listen to anyone who says otherwise).
I know if I don't do it someone else will so it doesn't really make a difference - but at least I can retain some sense that I'm not the kind of person who does bad things, and that's worth something.
With web tracking you can at least be 'careless' in your implementation and 'accidentally' make it not work very well because most of the time nobody will ever test it properly. No way to get away with that with this "Bossware" stuff, it'll be in active use all the time.
Hope you find something better soon.
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#118Everyone replying with "what's the big deal?" is showing their tech privilege. You may not have to deal with intrusive monitoring, but warehouse workers are increasingly being made to wear ankle bracelets so every movement of theirs can be monitored and stack ranked. Workers in WFH "gig" jobs are made to install always-on keyloggers and other monitoring software on their personal computers and phones (which are requi…
>install always-on keyloggers and other monitoring software on their personal computers and phones
1. WTF is anyone doing using their personal belongings for their work? Cleanly and clearly demarcating personal and professional is CYA 101, for both employee and employer.
2. WTF is the employer doing if they don't provide all necessary tooling for the job prescribed?
3. WTF are you doing working for above employer? I sympathize not everyone can do so, but the only way such bullshit will change is if enough of the workforce says "nope" and quits for greener pastures.
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#119Everyone replying with "what's the big deal?" is showing their tech privilege. You may not have to deal with intrusive monitoring, but warehouse workers are increasingly being made to wear ankle bracelets so every movement of theirs can be monitored and stack ranked. Workers in WFH "gig" jobs are made to install always-on keyloggers and other monitoring software on their personal computers and phones (which are requi…
This is crazy to read. I live in what you consider a highly authoritarian and non-free society and can't imagine something like this happening here. Lower paid jobs are even more privileged in some ways: for example, in many companies you can just not show up for work for a couple of days if you feel like it, and the worst thing you can expect is a small pay cut at the end of the month.
Re: Bossware is a big legal risk
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was asked to be recorded answering three stupid questions like "what motivates you?", "why do you want to work here?" etc. before attending a multi-stage interview. I never got invited to that interview, and I did wonder if I could take them to court, because my CV showed me as good fit for the job (literally ticked all the boxes), but they clearly rejected me based on the video. (In case you wonder why I thought I…
Perhaps during the video they discovered that they didn't like you.
You're not supposed to see candidates' faces on applications to make sure there is no bias based on looks. Not sure how enforceable that is.