Main point: "... machine-learning software to measure how quickly employees complete different tasks and suggest ways to speed them up. The tool also gives each person a productivity score, which managers can use to identify those employees who are most worth retaining—and those who are not."
As workers have gone home during the pandemic shelter-in-place directives, there "has been accompanied by a reported spike in the use of surveillance software that lets employers track what their employees are doing and how long they spend doing it."
Other systems workers have on their company computers:
- "Hubstaff is software that records users’ keyboard strokes, mouse movements, and the websites that they visit."
- "Time Doctor goes further, taking videos of users’ screens. It can also take a picture via webcam every 10 minutes to check that employees are at their computer."
- "Isaak, a tool made by UK firm Status Today, monitors interactions between employees to identify who collaborates more, combining this data with information from personnel files to identify individuals who are 'change-makers.'"
The CEO of the company making the productivity measuring system promises employers "Imagine you’re managing somebody and you could stand and watch them all day long, and give them recommendations on how to do their job better."
