The impact of “big brother” bosses on employee wellbeing

If you’re working remotely, Big Brother may be closer than you think. Your boss might be somewhere nearby, digitally leaning over your shoulder, scrutinising every keystroke and mouse click. It sounds pretty unnerving, and a little bit dystopian, but a recent study of 2,000 employers showed a whopping 78% use surveillance software to spy on their hybrid and remote employees.??

While this may give employers the illusion of increased control, the negative repercussions on employee wellbeing make it entirely counterproductive. Surveillance software may even be fuelling the kind of negative behaviour it aims to prevent. Employees who don’t feel trusted are more likely to try to take advantage. They may also try to circumvent the technology – just look online for “mouse jiggler”!?

The post-pandemic shift?

The global pandemic brought about a massive shift in working habits and workplace dynamics. As hybrid and remote working normalised, employees increasingly began to expect this option in their post-Covid roles. But this new normal has left employers grappling with the challenge of managing employees from a distance. It’s not surprising, then, that 74% of bosses feel that they’ve lost control over the business as a direct consequence of remote work.???

To regain their sense of control and alleviate anxiety, many bosses have sought out ways of keeping tabs on their remote workers. The search term "how to monitor employees working from home" spiked by a staggering 1,705% in April 2020 alone.??

Tech companies the world over have, of course, been quick to capitalise on this rich vein of employer anxiety, designing and offering a wide array of tools to help employers monitor their workers from afar. But the question on lots of minds is this: are these tools innovative, or just invasive???

Innovative or invasive???

Technology for surveilling remote workers ranges from software that measures productivity by taking regular screenshots and monitoring keystrokes to tools that track web-browsing patterns, emails sent and app usage. Some tools assess the frequency and length of messages workers send on company platforms to paint a picture of team comms. The most advanced, and this is where the argument about overly-invasive tech becomes readily apparent, go so far as to keep tabs on the music workers are listening to, their facial expressions and changes in their tone of voice.??

This might sound like a page lifted from an Orwellian novel, but remember, it’s all in the name of productivity. A word which soothes the instinctive uneasiness many bosses feel. The trouble is, it often does the exact opposite.?

In the name of productivity??

The majority of monitoring software focuses on policing employee behaviour, putting employees under the microscope but neglecting to offer any real enhancements to the remote working experience. These tools strip away a worker’s autonomy and sense of agency. In a study of 2,000 remote and hybrid employees, 43% felt that remote surveillance violated their trust. Since trust is the foundation of any constructive relationship, whether working or personal, its erosion should be of serious concern.?

The pursuit of productivity and control has left employee wellbeing an overlooked afterthought. This disregard fosters resentment and increasing performance pressure for employees. The same study that demonstrated how much trust had been removed by surveillance tools revealed that 56% of remote employees feel anxiety and 28% feel underappreciated as a result of being monitored.?

The twist, and you might have been able to predict this, is that these tools are categorically bad for business. Stressed, resentful employees aren’t likely to perform better. In fact, monitored workers are more likely to fake work and pretend to be online, which is unlikely to produce valuable output. Two studies conducted in 2021 even found that monitored employees were “substantially more likely” to engage in negative behaviours such as theft, damaging work property, cheating or deliberately working at a slower pace. Employers are therefore risking significant damage to the business by using these surveillance techniques.?

If we learned one thing from the pandemic, it was how to re-evaluate our priorities. Over the course of 2021, 60% of workers were planning a job change because of Covid, with 87% of surveyed workers under 25 years old re-evaluating their careers entirely. Thousands of people quit jobs that they felt weren’t providing the right life balance for them, or where there was missing flexibility. Employers may unwillingly trigger a mass employee exodus if staff feel unappreciated, stressed or perpetually spied on.?

The way forward?

In a bid to replace physical oversight in a digital equivalent, employers have confused people surveillance with active people management. The solution is to apply the basic principles of good management to remote workers.???

There are so many better ways to manage remote workforces that avoid relying on Big Brother tech. Here are some examples of alternative strategies which combine good people management with effective remote management:??

• Clarify the operating model and cadence to make sure everyone understands, and is satisfied with, how the team will operate at a distance.?
• Set clear goals with measurable outcomes. The focus should be on results rather than activity. Some employees will be most productive in the early morning, some may need an afternoon focus session. Outstanding output from a whole varied team demands that flexibility.?
• Have regular check-ins to keep comms channels open and mutually respectful. Employees should feel supported and able to raise concerns as and when they arise, without a fear of being reprimanded for voicing reasonable needs.??
• Don’t forget to chat.? Not every employer/employee exchange needs to be transactional. Casual, open conversations can help foster good relationships, forge deeper trust in both directions and reduce the potential isolation for a remote worker.?
• Share information to keep remote workers updated.??
• Overcommunicate. This is particularly crucial for hybrid teams in which remote workers can feel excluded.? It keeps everyone singing from the same hymn sheet and feeling like an integrated unit.??
• Introduce hybrid working patterns where appropriate. Extended periods spent working from home can lead to a detrimental disconnect for some individuals (this article of mine goes into further detail on that). Create office days and plan those carefully so that employees have a great experience.? Office days are great for creativity and problem solving.? Remote work is good for concentrated tasks.???

Rethink employee management?

Monitoring remote working employees with the help of digital tools might seem appealing at first glance, but it risks causing irreparable damage to the working relationship, encouraging disengagement and churn. On the other hand, good people management techniques, adapted to the remote environment, instil trust, empower workers and engage everyone in every team to do their best work.??