Remote Work Surveillance: Are you being Watched? 📹
Turns out, the whole Big Brother thing is more real than we thought.
A recent survey by ResumeBuilder.com spilt the beans on remote work monitoring. They asked 1,000 biz leaders from mostly remote or hybrid companies, and guess what? Most of them admitted to keeping tabs on their employees in some way or another.
The scary part? Over a third of these companies make their employees appear on live video feeds. And get this, three out of four have actually fired people because of what they found while snooping around. No wonder 70% of workers have quit rather than be monitored.
But these companies think they're onto something. 63% believe that spying on their employees boosts productivity. Although, only 10% admitted to using surveillance to force people back into the office.
This whole surveillance craze started during the pandemic when companies went remote. Scared their employees would slack off at home, bosses resorted to spying on them to make sure they were working. Around 40% of the surveyed companies started snooping in 2020. And it's only gotten worse, with another 20% jumping on the monitoring bandwagon in the last year.
Here's the real kicker: 80% of major US companies were already monitoring productivity even before the pandemic hit. They'd track everything from keyboard clicks to online time, and it could cost employees their bonuses or promotions.
The chief career advisor at ResumeBuilder.com, Stacie Haller, said, "Our survey shows that lots of organizations are still struggling to manage their workforce post-pandemic. They focus more on hours worked than actual productivity. It's a challenge for management teams."
But here's the thing. All this spying actually backfires. Despite thinking they're boosting productivity, bosses are creating a toxic atmosphere of paranoia and mistrust.
They track web browsing and apps (62%), block certain content (49%), and get this, 37% of companies expect workers to be on camera all day! And nearly all of them (93%) actually watch the live video feed for at least four hours a day. No wonder people end up quitting.
Monitored workers feel less loyal and put in less effort. A study even found that employees being watched are more likely to take sneaky breaks and work slower. They just don't feel responsible when they're constantly being monitored.
According to ResumeBuilder.com, remote workers being watched waste around two to three hours a day on non-work stuff like browsing the internet or scrolling through social media. Stacie Haller defends them, saying, "Well, even office workers waste time, right? But they're not being watched like this. No wonder employees don't want to feel like Big Brother is breathing down their necks every day."
Let's hope that bosses start trusting their employees more. Maybe then all this surveillance software will become a thing of the past.
Oh, and here's a fun fact: despite all the spying and resentment, workers who split their time between remote and office work are the most productive, engaged, and positive about their jobs. So maybe the best thing bosses can do is just leave their people alone.
How do you feel about all of this?
Ready to apply to genuine remote jobs? Check these out👇
Stay rebellious,
Michelle