Why Virtual Employee Surveillance Hurts Productivity

The need for morality and compassion in a COVID-19 world

On Twitter and LinkedIn, working from home is the buzz in this COVID-19 environment, especially with white-collar teams. To keep businesses operating, companies have transformed their onsite employees into virtual ones. For example, one financial institute client explained that his tech department rapidly expanded its systems to handle the new demands of an entirely virtual workforce.

For some, virtual work may become their new normal. Companies like Twitter and Square allow employees to work from home indefinitely, while Google and Facebook employees can work from home until the end of 2020.

The rise in virtual surveillance, spyware, tattleware, and tracking

With more people working from home, more companies are using surveillance software to verify that employees are working rather than watching TV or reading Facebook. As Bobby Allyn writes, your boss is watching you.

Companies have invested in software to log keystrokes, measure mouse movements, and capture screenshots. They can also track the time you use applications and require employees to keep their video cameras on while working. All this is done to ensure…