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Data & Society just published a report entitled Workplace Monitoring & Surveillance:
New technologies are enabling more varied and pervasive monitoring and surveillance practices in the workplace. This monitoring is becoming increasingly intertwined with data collection as the basis for surveillance, performance evaluation, and management. Monitoring and surveillance tools are collecting new kinds of data about workers, enabling quantification of activities or personal qualities that previously may not have been tracked in a given workplace—expanding the granularity, scale, and tempo of data collection. Moreover, workplace monitoring and surveillance can feed automated decision-making and inform predictions about workers' future behaviors, their skills or qualities, and their fitness for employment. Monitoring and surveillance can shift power dynamics between workers and employers, as an imbalance in access to worker data can reduce negotiating power.
This explainer highlights four broad trends in employee monitoring and surveillance technologies:
- Prediction and flagging tools that aim to predict characteristics or behaviors of employees or that are designed to identify or deter perceived rule-breaking or fraud. Touted as useful management tools, they can augment biased and discriminatory practices in workplace evaluations and segment workforces into risk categories based on patterns of behavior.
- Biometric and health data of workers collected through tools like wearables, fitness tracking apps, and biometric timekeeping systems as a part of employer- provided health care programs, workplace wellness, and digital tracking work shifts tools. Tracking non-work-related activities and information, such as health data, may challenge the boundaries of worker privacy, open avenues for discrimination, and raise questions about consent and workers' ability to opt out of tracking.
- Remote monitoring and time-tracking used to manage workers and measure performance remotely. Companies may use these tools to decentralize and lower costs by hiring independent contractors, while still being able to exert control over them like traditional employees with the aid of remote monitoring tools. More advanced time-tracking can generate itemized records of on-the-job activities, which can be used to facilitate wage theft or allow employers to trim what counts as paid work time.
- Gamification and algorithmic management of work activities through continuous data collection. Technology can take on management functions, such as sending workers automated "nudges" or adjusting performance benchmarks based on a worker's real-time progress, while gamification renders work activities into competitive, game-like dynamics driven by performance metrics. However, these practices can create punitive work environments that place pressures on workers to meet demanding and shifting efficiency benchmarks.
(Score: 3, Funny) by acid andy on Wednesday March 13 2019, @12:59PM (7 children)
People should make a stand against this. Complain to their employer and leave if it isn't discontinued. Dignity is more important than a living.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday March 13 2019, @03:14PM (2 children)
Why's it funny?
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday March 13 2019, @05:18PM (1 child)
It's very difficult to look dignified, if you're homeless.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday March 13 2019, @06:43PM
That's a very fair point and not something I would want to make light of. I'm pretty sure though that there are employees quietly accepting this fate that do have other, better options because I've seen the attitudes. The unquestioning acceptance of their employer's authority. Self-employment for those that can manage it would be better than this. If everyone kicked back against this sort of thing, it wouldn't be workable. The norm is compliant drones though, so it just gets worse and worse.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday March 13 2019, @07:17PM (3 children)
There we go. Maybe we can start by complaining to EU leaders first and see if they can apply pressure on the US to support these laws. I say they bundle it in with the landmine ban and mandating micro-USB.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by acid andy on Wednesday March 13 2019, @09:14PM
You said it better. Thank you. Complaining to employers can work sometimes too but they need to find you somewhat indispensable and actually be capable of conducting a conversation with a lesser employee, so I guess that rules most out.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday March 13 2019, @09:15PM (1 child)
. . . . . . . . . why would you want to mandate micro-USB? I would absolutely love a connector standard that didn't require me to line-up the connector perfectly, every time. From what I understand USB-C achieves that, and there's no upside down/right side up issue.
The landmine issue isn't an issue as the USA isn't the problem. As far as I can tell, the landmine treaty is just a bunch of people sitting around trying to make each other feel good. Unless I've misunderstood it and they've actually done something with regards to those who've signed the treaty, but don't adhere to it.
Workplace monitoring/surveillance is a sticky subject by comparison. At what point is the individuals' freedom being infringed, if their goals don't match up with the employer's? Sure, it may be draconian and counterproductive, but that doesn't necessitate illegality. Whereas in certain areas of employment, monitoring and/or surveillance is very much needed. How do you feel about the body-cameras for policemen/law enforcement? What about security cameras in a bank? Computer monitoring in the FBI/CIA/NSA heard quarters? Why should there be special exceptions for those professions only? Workplace monitoring/surveillance has it's place, but it can also be abused. Happy employees are productive employees, and constantly watching over their shoulders won't make them happy.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday March 13 2019, @09:32PM
It won't, but it will probably select for a workforce that is happy with it, acts happy with it, or is willing to tolerate and/or adapt to it. Ugh, that sounds awful once I actually said it out loud.