I’m Bob Wendover. For most people, it is human nature to attempt to game the system if they feel they are not being trusted. Chances are, you’ve experienced one of these bosses or work environments at least once in your career. With the transition to hybrid work over the past three years, this issue has become much more pronounced. No matter how you try to explain it, an awful lot of managers just don’t believe they are getting a full-day’s work out of those they employ. As a result, an estimated two-thirds of medium-to-large companies have now adopted some kind of worker surveillance system, according to Gartner HR Research.
I was reminded of this while reading an article in The Wall Street Journal describing the variety of ways in which remote, and even in-office, employees have found to fool these new productivity monitors. These include everything from mouse jigglers and mice wrapped around oscillating fans to opening a slide deck and leaving it in show mode to keep the computer awake. One woman even streams Sloth TV on a second screen so the microphone picks up people talking. Necessity or, in this case, determination to work the system is the mother of invention. I’m sure as these surveillance systems become more sophisticated, the methods to deceive them will as well. Of course, the only winners in this situation are the companies providing this software.
I have argued for decades that managers should evaluate performance based on outcome rather than task. But that’s the hard part, defining and measuring expectations when it is so much easier to simply say, “I need you to make this many widgets or deal with this many customer calls per hour. I had a CSR refuse to deal with me one time, because I identified myself as Bob instead of Robert, which was the name on the account. When I spoke with a supervisor after calling back, he explained that those handling calls were measured on the number, not the quality, of interactions. “It’s kind of a flaw in our system,” he said. I’ll say!
Sadly, I estimate that half of the companies I work with have no current job description for each position within the firm. Is it any wonder many employees think what they are told to do is somewhat arbitrary? And when I take that one step further and ask for specific expectations and metrics, I get a blank stare. So why, wonder many employees, should they have to stick like glue to a desk throughout the day, especially in their basement office?
Now, you might think that I am being unrealistic or even a rube for arguing this in today’s super-detached and transactional world. But should you really spend your focus and energy on determining whether your people are punching the clock? Simply showing up does not, and never has, been a good predictor of outcome.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be vigilant. Not long ago a client of mine did a cursory search of his remote employees on the internet. To his shock, he discovered that one individual was working in the same type of position for another employer as well. You can guess what happened, even in a tight job market.
So, bottom line? Trust begins with the employer. In a way, it goes back to the old cold war principle of trust but verify. I digress, but for heaven sakes spend your time on better defined expectations and not on spyware.