In the age of remote workers, we are bound to fears that our staff may not be productive during working hours. The fear goes both ways. After a carefully planned workday from an employee, fear may arise that the employer believes you have been procrastinating. With the ultimate aim of promotion, or just acknowledgment of hard work, it may be demotivating if you carry out each day not being noticed.

Now, to combat feelings of uneasiness, monitoring software could be used to accurately track how much work an employee really does during the day. This is beneficial to both the employer and employee, so in an attempt to answer some questions around monitoring software, I have created a Q and A. This will be a working document, updated as we receive more feedback.

We are addressing employee concerns here, we will be discussing the employers’ Q & A in a future blog.

Q – If my boss has installed monitoring software, can they take control of my camera?

A – This depends on the software referred to. ERS Watchdog respects your privacy and will not allow this line to be crossed.

Q – If my boss has installed monitoring software, can management read my private emails or communications?

A – Once again, this will depend on the software chosen, if you are using ERS Watchdog, rest assured that breaches of privacy are taken very seriously by our programmers.

Q – My boss has installed monitoring software on my computer. Why does my boss feel he cannot trust me?

A –  If you’re sure that your boss has installed the software solely based on trust, consider that it may be a different employee that needs to be monitored, however a new policy should apply to all. Most likely, it is not a trust issue, but rather an analysis of what each member of your team is doing. Through the generation of reports, a full understanding can be comprehended to see which member needs assistance, or where extra capacity can be found.

Q – Why has my boss installed monitoring software on my computer?

A – An organisation will install this software for any of the reasons set out below;

1. Concerns over staff productivity
2. Discovering where additional capacity is available to share workloads
3. If your Business uses billable hours, these hours must be recorded
4. Identifying those that work hardest

Q – Can my boss see if I am spending time on Social Media?

A – Yes. Your boss will see the duration spent in any program, app, or website and can set up a warning that you will receive if you are not permitted to access any programs or sites during work time.

Q – Is it legal to monitor staff?

A – Provided no breaches in privacy are performed, such as capturing private passwords, it is perfectly legal.

Q – What if I use social media for work? Will the software report that I have not been working?

A – Each individual employee’s permitted programs and sites can be fully customized. This means that your employer can allow social media to fall under “productive” tasks for you, however, for another employee it can be flagged as “un-productive”.

Any future questions will be added to the blog.