Millions of people work from home. If you are one of them, you might have taken easy your office hours. If it is your case, be warned! A report revealed that one in five companies are spying their remote workers without their knowledge.
Metro reports that unions warn employers are getting benefits of Covid-19 restrictions to monitor their remote employees secretly. One in every five companies accepts that it is monitoring its staff without their knowledge and intends to keep it continued.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, told the publication, “We know many employers are investing in tech to micro-manage workers and automate decisions about who to hire, and who to let go. Staff must be properly consulted on surveillance at work and protected from unfair management by an algorithm. As we emerge from this crisis, technology must be used to make working lives better — not to rob people of their dignity.”
Their surveillance methods involve checking the time an employee takes to read and reply to messages. The most upsetting claim is that some bosses even watch staff through their webcams. Moreover, the actual privacy concern is that employees could face several unfair disciplinary actions.
As per a reveal by YouGov/Skillcast poll of 2,009 companies, 12 percent had actually monitored their employees remotely. In fact, in large firms, the estimated number to 16 per cent and 8 percent considering the action.
According to a TUC research report, as they began their remote working, one in five, has seen surveillance increase.
Companies in the UK are permitted to secretly monitor their remote workers “if they suspect they are breaking the law.”
Various tech giants have taken advantage of the need for remote working, and they have literally provided many examples of pushing boundaries of privacy concern. For instance, Microsoft has changed its Productivity Score tool after an opposition against the invasiveness of the trick.
