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Keystroke tracking, screenshots, and facial recognition:
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Keystroke tracking, screenshots, and facial recognition:

The Boss May Be Watching Long After the Pandemic Ends

Danielle Abril and Drew Harwell
The Washington Post, 2021
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

When COVID sent workers home, many employers felt a need to track their remote workers’ productivity and commitment. The use of electronic monitoring platforms like Hubstaff and Teramind grew popular, and they’re likely here to stay. Washington Post reporters Danielle Abril and Drew Harwell report how this surveillance makes workers feel mistrusted, and they explore how firms either respect or breach their staff’s expectation of privacy. The authors warn employees to learn their employers’ policies, because – depending on your jurisdiction – legal protections may be scanty.

Take-Aways

  • The coronavirus pandemic revealed employers’ anxiety about employees’ work ethic and productivity.
  • Employees experience stress from how closely their company monitors them, but usually they have little or no legal recourse.
  • Companies choose if or when to monitor workers and decide if it is productive – or not.  Employees adapt better to tracking if firms are transparent about it.

About the Authors

Danielle Abril reports on how technology affects workers and the workplace for The Washington Post, where Drew Harwell covers artificial intelligence (AI) and how algorithms affect people’s lives.

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