This makes me really glad that our company policy thus far has been giving employees new machines and have them set them up themselves. I know my work laptop has no spyware because I didn't install any.
Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
41–50 of 128 posts
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#42This has been a thing for at least 15+ years. In fact, when computers were a bit slower, I would notice a perceptible lag in my mouse movement when this happened.
Honestly, there are better ways to measure productivity based on other parameters, taking screenshots is just silly.
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#43Paywalled article, please post the full version.
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#44A lot of people are saying "not news worthy," but I think this is a far more useful article than the majority of articles posted here: - It's applicable to most people on this site - It's actionable: be conscious of what you use your company-issued computer for I'm convinced that most people aren't aware that this is a common practice. I've talked to people who think it's not possible or that their company doesn't do…
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Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is it tied to time, instead of deliverables? I mean, if I work extra hard to get the days work done in 4 hours, why can’t I leave early compared to a co-worker who is working less focused and more slowly? I get that it’s not easy to set good milestones, and to keep it fair in terms of making sure everyone has approximately equal work, but I feel the same problems exist with required work “time” especially since i…
+1. Outside hourly contractors, if you have a clear sense of what impact/outcome you're seeking, time of day or number of hours shouldn't matter. Often I suspect it's a proxy for NOT having a clear idea of the desired outcomes. Removing a requirement for "8 hours a day" can even be a good forcing function to ensure you DO have a clear and well-communicated set of goals and outcomes. Indexing on time (IMHO) can also h…
Consider the practice of "work to rule".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-rule
Precisely defining what at employee is to do is not really practical. At some point it's always going to be "do what I mean, not what I say."
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#46I would quit the moment I found out something like this was being instituted.
I think most companies that need to hire top talent know that these kinds of things drive away talent. So these practices tend to be relegated to a lower tier of companies/employers.
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#47I'm working on a product that logs everything you do on your computer super accurately, but when it comes down to submitting those activities the user can (actually often really needs to) clean them up first. The raw logged data doesn't leave the computer, the boss or client gets a version that might or might not be an accurate reflection of what the worker did. The most important thing is that you're able to "rememb…
Reminds me of Timely's Memory, which does upload the raw data onto a server, but says that it's only accessible by you.
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#48Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22728971 (19d ago)
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#49The trouble with taking screenshots is then you have to employ people to spend their day examining and evaluating the screenshots.
Before computers could transcribe voice, the limiting factor of wiretapping is needing some poor schmuck who had to listen to all those utterly banal conversations, which has to be one of the worst jobs ever.
Re: Employers who use software to take screenshots of workers’ computers
#50As a company owner, I've resisted the temptation to do this. We did make it easy for our employees to behave themselves by making it very easy to 'clock in' and 'clock out.' I told everybody that this is a time to be close to family - if your child wants to play ball in the middle of the day, then go ahead! Just clock out before you do. Get your 8 hours in and document your work. Thankfully everybody has responded we…
you’re a shitty boss. they should do their work and lie to you about how much time it took.