As the technology that enables digital employee monitoring tools advance and become more affordable, their use is growing. The chance to obtain comprehensive, real-time reports on how their staff members are allocating their time at work is welcomed by employers. Employees themselves, however, are frequently not very happy about this – and enterprise technology trends and users of such systems are increasingly taking their views into consideration.
A week after launching its pilot version, the British bank Barclays has chosen to discontinue its software for tracking employees’ work-related expenses, according to the BBC. The comparatively straightforward system was made up of office computer software that tracked how long a user really spent using a particular computer.
Although the functional features of this solution are not revealed, it is possible to infer from the reviews of Barclays employees that were cited in the City A. M. publication that it considers activity such as the user’s interaction with the computer’s input devices, which include the keyboard, mouse, touchpad, and IP telephony headset.
The system creates a report on the working day’s outcomes based on the data gathered, documenting all breaks of any duration. With the exception of lunch breaks, employees are permitted to leave their computers no more than twice or three times during the workday and for a maximum of 20 to 30 minutes each time.
Additionally, the solution provides guidance to users on how to focus more intently and efficiently on work-related matters during working hours based on the analysis of the collected data. In addition to turning off pop-up notifications from social networks, chats, and other apps irrelevant to work, employees are encouraged to put their personal phones in silent mode when they arrive at work.
Barclays has previously attempted to automate employee monitoring software such as Controlio. The bank attempted to put OccupEye vision sensors in its offices in 2017, which tracked how long employees stayed at their desks.
Due to protests from the people it was meant to monitor, the machine surveillance system was also swiftly disassembled at that time. Now, the bank’s administration has once again backed down, not wanting to further tensions within the team, after the new software for tracking staff activities was likewise received with animosity from those in authority.
The primary goals of the new system’s installation, according to Barclays’ official statement, are “protecting employees from unaccounted overtime” and “generally increasing productivity.” However, according to quality and health and safety experts from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Who were cited by the BBC, automated systems for tracking the behavior of hired employees that are implemented without careful thought and extensive team consultation only serve to undermine the cause because they make it obvious to employees that their employer does not trust them or has very little faith in them.
When low-skilled, low-paid labor is employed and the relationship between the employer and employee is not founded on trust at first, such systems are more or less successful. Interestingly, one of the first examples of such a system was used during the serfdom era and is documented in Russian classical literature
Village girls were told to sing constantly while they picked berries in the master’s garden in order to prevent them from physically enjoying the fruits that were meant for the master.
In one form or another, employers will keep an eye on how their staff members carry out their responsibilities. Body sensors that can detect whether a worker is falling from a height or colliding with a moving object are already saving lives in dangerous sectors and during construction.
Additionally, work activity monitoring software in offices aids in task progress tracking, sensitive data transfer control, and the early detection of information security concerns.
Fair performance reviews are often accepted by employees; after all, it is the purpose of middle managers. However, the representatives of Generations Y and Z, who place the highest emphasis on personal freedom.
Begain to complain if an employer begins to criticize the job in progress rather than insisting on a well-defined outcome within a given time frame. Even though current technology offers a wide range of opportunities, employers’ attempts to fully manage every employee’s movement will be less successful the more manpower scarcity there is in a certain area.
