How Employers Track Workers and Protect Employee Privacy
Thousands of employers are tracking worker locations, task completion rates, and communications using digital tools originally scaled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to reporting by the Associated Press. This corporate monitoring shift raises concerns about how much privacy employees have relinquished, even in their own homes.
The operational landscape changed when advanced artificial intelligence and data science allowed employers to compile extensive digital dossiers on their staff. Wilneida Negrón, director of research and policy at the nonprofit Coworker, notes that some employers track, rank, and score employees in ways that are not transparent to workers. Research conducted jointly by Vanderbilt University, Northeastern University, and the University of California at Berkeley revealed that numerous standard office surveillance systems transmit sensitive employee details—such as email accounts and personal names—to numerous third-party tech firms and data brokers without providing explicit notice about the activity.
These practices are seen in various settings. Instances include university officials reviewing an adjunct instructor’s notes on student essays, automated warehouse systems tracking sorting speeds to guarantee hundreds of hourly checks, and medical facility supervisors instructing a pharmacist to curtail patient interaction times after analyzing her consultation frequencies and durations. Pharmacist Lannie Duong experienced this firsthand when her employer tracked the length of her phone calls and appointments for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Duong reported that the unrelenting pressure made her feel untrusted and eventually led to her volunteering with other pharmacists to organize a union before her employment was terminated following a medical leave, as detailed in Associated Press accounts.
The Data Privacy Dilemma
Electronic Frontier Foundation state affairs director Hayley Tsukayama points out that employees are increasingly resisting devices designed to measure task completion times; she notes that such surveillance fosters physical injuries while raising valid questions regarding the gathering and utilization of personal information. When employers collect data from work-issued smartphones and laptop cameras, it raises concerns regarding privacy.
To mitigate risks, some employers use surveillance tools transparently and engage employee boards in reviewing how the tools are used.