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Inside the little known tool that gives JPMorgan Chase the power to collect data about everything its employees do at work
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Inside the little known tool that gives JPMorgan Chase the power to collect data about everything its employees do at work

From tracking time spent on Zoom and phone calls to seating arrangements and office attendance, JPMorgan's vast data collection apparatus is fanning the flames of suspicion and 'paranoia' at America's biggest bank

Reed Alexander
Business Insider UK, 2022
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In spring 2020, JPMorgan Chase, America’s biggest bank, rolled out its proprietary Workforce Activity Data Utility (WADU), which collects data about its employees. Workers complain that management is using WADU to maintain “lists” that track their behavior – such as missing work – but the bank claims such systems are necessary for compliance with US Security and Exchange Commission rules and other banking regulations. Reed Alexander reports for Business Insider UK that WADU has driven employees to try to avoid being monitored, but that cuts into their productivity. This case history – though based on only a few interviews and leaked documents – probes the question: What happens when a company’s surveillance policies challenge its employees’ personal boundaries?

Summary

JPMorgan Chase uses a proprietary system, WADU, to monitor its employees and collect data about them.

Just prior to the coronavirus pandemic, America’s biggest bank started building its proprietary Workforce Activity Data Utility (WADU) to collect employee data. From the moment employees log in by swiping their IDs, the system monitors every minute they spend on Zoom calls, writing emails or talking on the phone. It tracks attendance, desk reservations – JPMorgan operates a hybrid workplace – and calendar entries. It also collects data from employees’ Blackberry phones. Senior managers have access to this data.

Employees, past and present, express concern about what JPMorgan Chase collects and why. However, the bank is operating within its legal rights by tracking employee activities. 

Employees report that the system “fosters paranoia,” mistrust and even disrespect among the workforce, because they fear the bank may be using collected data – perhaps beyond its monitoring function...

About the Author

Reed Alexander reports on investment banks and Wall Street culture for Insider.

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