How Black Mirror-style surveillance culture could be making workers less productive
It sounds like something out of a dystopian novel – sensors tracking exactly when employees are at their desks. But it really happened at one newspaper a colleague of mine used to work for. Bump into someone in the canteen while grabbing a coffee and wind up having a chinwag? Your desk, and therefore your boss, would know.
The regime didn’t last long, apparently – it’s hard to enforce something when an entire newsroom is up in arms about it – but plenty of other workplaces have implemented similar measures. Accountancy firm EY hit headlines earlier this week after it was revealed that data from the office entry turnstiles was being analysed by senior partners to measure attendance.
Surveillance kit can include anything from monitoring emails and recording every keystroke a worker is typing, to using CCTV and tracking devices to keep tabs on movements made throughout the day. Webcams on work computers; handheld scanners used by warehouse employees; programs that detect whether call centre are responding and tone of voice to collect “mood and sentiment analysis”. It’s bone-chilling, -level stuff.
