Your Employer Is Tracking You

Recently saw  this video from Joshua Fluke. If you don't subscribe to his channel, you should.  The subject matter of the video is simple, Josh discusses computer software that tracks employee input on their work issued computer.

Although I am against this practice, the fact of the matter is that many companies do use this kind of software. If the computer in question belongs to the company, then the company does have an argument for the use of the software.The question still remains, if you do not trust me, then why don't you fire me immediately?

An example
My former employer took the cheap way out on this type of software. They tracked our time at the computer by measuring how often the application Skype went inactive.  Skype would go inactive after about 7 or 8 minutes. The computer screen would shut down after 10 minutes of inactivity.

At one point, my boss brought it to my attention that my Skype availability it was not acceptable. Since I had suspicions (that were later confirmed) that this was a part of a grander scheme to build documentation leading to my termination, I decided to not allow this point to be the determining factor. I bought a USB "mouse jiggler."

The device sent a signal to the computer that the mouse had moved ever so slightly once every 3 minutes. This kept the computer active, Skype active, and also prevented the computer from shutting down.  In my conversation with my boss the following month, he noted that my Skype activity was among the best of my peers.  He acted very excited about this.

Of course, what he was really excited about, was not my activity, he was really excited about the fact that this was no longer a reason for him to build documentation. See, he was going to no longer be my direct supervisor at the beginning of 2021. Therefore, he could hand off the duties of building the case against me to my incoming supervisor.

Naturally, I got out of Dodge, before any of that could happen.

Some thoughts:
1.  Do not perform any personal activities on your work issued computer. Perform personal activities on personal devices.

2.  Tape up the video camera on your work computer.

3. Do not perform work activities on a personal computer or device. If a company requires you to perform work duties on a personal device, buy a separate device on which to perform that work.

4. Be extremely wary of companies where C-level executives believe that remote work is somehow less productive or less desirable.