Work from Home Boom Leads to 'Tattleware' Surveillance by Employers

According to a recent report, the increased number of employees working from home due to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has led to more workplace surveillance by employers. Employees report being instructed to install “tattleware’ monitoring programs on their computers tracking mouse movements and keystrokes, as well as smartphone apps to track their movements during working hours.

NPR reports that employees are facing increased surveillance from employers as many firms transition to remote working setups. NPR uses the example of a 25-year-old e-commerce worker who was reportedly instructed to install tracking apps on their computer as a condition of continued employment.

The e-commerce worker and their colleagues were instructed to install software called Hubstaff on their personal computers in order to track their mouse movements and keyboard strokes and record the website that they visited. They were also told to install an app called Sheets on their phone to keep tabs on their location during work hours.

The worker told NPR: “There are five of us. And we always came to work. We always came on time. There was no reason to start location-tracking us.” The worker spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity as they feared they could lose their job.

Another worker at a small company in Minnesota was instructed by their employer to install a software called Time Doctor which downloads videos of employees’ screens while they work, it can also take a photo of the employee via their webcam every ten minutes.

“If you’re idle for a few minutes, if you go to the bathroom or whatever, a pop-up will come up and it’ll say, ‘You have 60 seconds to start working again or we’re going to pause your time,’ ” the employee said.

The employee added: “I just feel like crap. I feel like I’m not trusted. I feel ashamed of myself. My co-workers were really, really upset. But everyone was too afraid to say anything.”

Critics have called this software “tattleware” but the developers of these apps disagree. Brad Miller, who runs the Connecticut-based company Awareness Technologies commented: “If you’re not working or doing something wrong, then I guess it will tattle on you, but I don’t think that’s really how companies that are buying [the software] think of it as.”

Since the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Miller stated that Awareness Technologies’ business has tripled. “Are they generally active on programs and websites that I would consider productive like Excel, PowerPoint, Word, email, as opposed to YouTube or Facebook?” Miller asked. “That’s primarily what our customers are looking to know.”