All You Need to Know About Employee Monitoring ‘Bossware’

With every passing year, more and more employers implement some form of employee monitoring software – commonly known as ‘bossware’. These tools are designed to track employee activity in various ways, and for various reasons.

Here and now we’re going to go over everything you need to know about employee monitoring ‘bossware’.

“What Can it Do?”

To put it simply, ‘bossware’ is a type of software often used for remote work surveillance that can be installed on computers and smartphones to collect data on what employees do. The exact capabilities of the software may vary, but most can track how employees spend their time and what activities they perform.

Some of the more advanced employee monitoring software such as Controlio can log what apps are used, websites are visited, and whether employees are active or idle. It can also be used to track employees in ways that could be considered invasive – such as by logging keystrokes, capturing screenshots, or recording videos of their screens.

On top of that, various ‘bossware’ often have other features too. For example, in the case of Controlio, it can set up behavior rules and alerts to trigger when employees perform certain actions – or even block particular apps or websites outright.

“Why is it Used?”

Different companies use ‘bossware’ for very different reasons. The most common is as a tool to track attendance and work hours, seeing as you can see exactly when employees start and stop working as well as how many hours they work for.

Additionally, ‘bossware’ can be used to track productivity. For example, the productivity score in Controlio is calculated for each employee and can be used to gauge and compare how productive employees are.

In some cases the data from employee monitoring can also be used to improve data security, and ensure compliance with data protection laws.

“What if it is Misused?”

While there are lots of legitimate ways to use ‘bossware’, the main concern employees have is that it will be misused to track private information. Unfortunately in most jurisdictions there is little that can be done about it as it is legal for employers to track employee activity during work hours.

That being said, it is best to be familiar with data privacy and protection laws in your jurisdiction. Aside from that, you should try to engage your employers and request they limit their monitoring to only areas necessary to fulfill their goals, and come up with a clear policy that outlines how the data will be used.

Getting employers to provide employees with access to data can be helpful as well so employees can check what data is being collected.

Conclusion

Assuming the current trend continues, it is safe to say that employee monitoring ‘bossware’ is not going anywhere. In fact, its use is likely to grow in the coming years.

Now that you know all about it however, you can be prepared and try to take action if any when you happen to encounter it in the future.