Remote Monitoring Software and Workplace Productivity

Unpacking the connections between personal data, digital technologies, and the becoming of a quantified-surveilled-gendered subject.

Project by

Individual

Timeline

5 weeks

Tools used

FigJam

Role

Research

Summary

The adoption of digital monitoring software owing to the COVID-19 pandemic to track remote employees, has raised privacy concerns and reduced workplace trust. According to a survey conducted by ExpressVPN, 78% of employers use tracking software to monitor employees’ activities and 90% of them track all work and non-work activities. 46% of employers have terminated workers based on the activities observed using the monitoring software. This project aims to question workplace culture using remote monitoring software and looks at alternatives.

Process

Literature review

Research papers
Web articles

Research design

Exploration
Survey
Data analysis
Primary source

Data collection

Interview
Survey

Data analysis

Research findings reviews
Reporting

Secondary research

To understand remote tracking software and its effects on employees, I conducted systematic literature review and annotated papers and news articles published on workplace surveillance

I looked at 10 different remote tracking software and their features. I noted down the features that seemed intrusive which was also evident from the literature review

From my research on looking at different remote tracking software, I made a note of some of the most common features throughout all the 10 software and analysed to see what the features meant to employees and how it affected them

Project 2_Workpalce productivity (1).png

Secondary research insights

Companies market themselves as productivity tools
Employers decide whether to retain or terminate employees based on the dashboard metrics
They fail to care for qualitative aspects of productivity such as problem solving and creativity
There is a lack of supportive and fair working environments due to the adoption of digital monitoring software.
it violates the right to employee privacy but it also raises concerns on how the data collected is stored and processed.
Employers have a database with activities monitored which gives them an upper hand to make decisions during reviews.

Research question

What can the digital monitoring of remote employees tell us about workplace productivity and trust?

Primary Research

Survey

I conducted a survey to learn about people’s workplace environment and what does a good workplace culture mean to them among 30 working individuals

Insights

Good workplace is built on trust, so employers need to trust their employees with the work assigned to employees and judge based on whether the work is done within the required time or not.
Being Supportive and open to ideas
Balanced work life and recognition for job done
Ones that allow you to work in your own pace to meet weekly or monthly objectives.
Good work place where employee will get recognise for his part of work and also motivated to grow in his life and financial
It doesn't involve micro management which might break the trust of employees and they will later not take work seriously and show signs of quitting the company.

Engaging with primary sources

I then looked at a leading remote monitoring software provider and read the privacy policies and terms of use. The terms used in the policy are jargon-heavy and is lengthy making is difficult for a common man to understand. There was no option to opt out of having the work done monitored. Ofcourse, they do give the option to opt out but that would mean companies can't use their services making it mandatory - a mandatory-voluntary game.

I analysed and found gaps in the digital privacy policies on India. Since there are no labour laws and stringent data protection laws in place yet in India, employees cannot seek legal help if companies enforce such monitoring mechanisms.

Through there is Digital Personal Data Protection Act which recently passed in August 2023, it does not help in protecting the privacy rather amplifies the issue.

Insights

Employers have the power to terminate an employee so they make it mandatory to have software installed on employees computers which collects employees’ data and uses it to improve their services. This is similar to how Usha Ramanathan talks about how the data collected by Aadhar is used and she says, “Consent, by the way, is the biggest sham in this project. It is the “mandatory-voluntary game” again.” Corporates work in the same way.

It is essential for companies using employee monitoring software to realize that it is extremely intrusive to monitor certain activities like search terms, take screenshots, and others as it violates personal liberty. Remote tracking software should rethink selling their products as “productivity tools.”

In an article by Legal Services India [18] which is on Right to Privacy under Article 21, Hina writes that “In the context of surveillance, it has been held that surveillance, if intrusive and seriously encroaches on the privacy of citizen, can infringe the freedom of movement, guaranteed by Articles 19(1)(d) and 21.”

Key questions

What goes into designing such remote monitoring software? Who are the makers of this technology?

How does using a digital tracking software define workplace culture? What does it say about employee privacy and organization ethics?

What could happen to the individuals if the data collected by these software gets leaked? Will there come a day when cybercriminals are able to track individuals based on the aggregate data (though it’s given that aggregate data is non-traceable) such as search terms and URLs visited collected? What will be the future of workplaces when it comes to employee expectations if such surveillance methods continue?

It is of paramount importance to get informed consent from employees and be transparent about the activity being monitored and processed. Employers need to build trust and have trust in their employees with the assigned work. Corporates should also practice responsible data collection.

Conclusion

The use of a monitoring software not only reduces an individual’s critical thinking and problem solving skills but also makes them less productive. Producing quality work can become hard due to the fear of constantly being monitored and judged for every action. It may also become a problem for the reputation of the companies if and when employees start retaliating.

Not every employee has the same work pattern and it’s essential for companies to understand that. Knowing each employees’ core strengths and qualities, acknowledging them and bringing out their best to produce quality results should be the main focus of managers rather than giving them achievement badges based on the quantitative metrics produced by the software.