How to help managers communicate about employee monitoring practices

It’s always uncomfortable when your boss walks by your desk and peers down at your computer. Nobody likes being watched, after all. But employee monitoring software, the digital equivalent of a nosy drop-in, is being increasingly used among remote and hybrid companies — and employees aren’t too thrilled.

Global demand for employee surveillance or productivity tracking software is now 59% higher than it was at the beginning of the pandemic, according to research from Top10VPN. And demand has been 75% higher on average since the start of 2022 than it was in 2019.

Remote and hybrid employees aren’t taking this rising surveillance trend lying down; a 2021 survey from workplace research firm Gartner found that employees are twice as likely to pretend to be working when their employers use these tracking systems.

This disconnect — between employers who want to track productivity and workers who resent the idea of “Big Brother” keeping tabs on their workday — can breed distrust, which spells disaster for company culture and, in turn, retention rates.