Workplace monitoring: Big Brother has infiltrated the corporate world

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• December 21, 2022

Insight summary

More companies are relying on workplace monitoring tools that can analyze workers' behaviors and attitudes to generate a range of data-driven insights, from worker productivity to mental health well-being. However, employers need to be cautious in implementing such technologies as they may increase worker resentment and decrease productivity. The long-term implications of workplace monitoring could include more wearable technologies in offices and unions lobbying against excessive surveillance.

Workplace monitoring context

More companies are investing in workplace monitoring tools in hopes of boosting performance and improving overall well-being. These tools can help prevent accidents, improve communication, and increase accountability. Employers use various workplace monitoring and surveillance tools, including closed circuit television (CCTV), attendance tracking, geolocation tracking, keystroke loggers, web browsing and app utilization, email and social media monitoring, collaboration tools, and productivity data.

The utilization of these technologies is often within the legal rights of companies. According to Matt Pinsker, an adjunct professor of homeland security and criminal justice at Virginia Commonwealth University, "as a general rule, workers have little expectation of privacy while on company grounds or using company equipment."

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated companies' reliance on monitoring tools as workforces began transitioning into hybrid or remote work styles. Some companies claim that their use of monitoring tools improves their workers' well-being. For example, as of 2021, Microsoft is developing a system that would use smartwatches to collect data on workers' blood pressure and heart rate, allowing workers to access personalized "anxiety scores." 

However, most monitoring tools track worker performance to increase productivity and deter rule-breaking. For example, Amazon tracks the smartphone data of its delivery drivers to analyze their efficiency and monitor unsafe driving practices.

Disruptive impact

Workplace monitoring tools can have a range of worker impacts, depending on how they are used. For instance, if junior workers are disproportionately targeted for surveillance, this could create a feeling of mistrust, resentment, and unease among these workers. Additionally, when monitoring is used excessively or in a way that creates additional burdens for workers (such as increased scrutiny of work hours or performance), such monitoring could lead to frustration and resentment. Conversely, if workplace monitoring is decreased in certain areas where it is not needed, this can communicate trust to workers and help to improve morale.

While it is true that worker monitoring and surveillance tools can have some benefits, such as preventing accidents or boosting performance, research has shown that they can also reduce workers' sense of agency and personal responsibility. Monitoring can lead to increased rates of cheating and other unethical behavior. To mitigate this risk, employers should treat workers fairly, foster accountability, and frame monitoring as a tool for empowering rather than punishing workers.

In 2019, staff at PwC volunteered to strap smartwatches to their wrists, gather biometric data on sleep patterns and heart rate variance, and take daily cognitive tests in a trial. Since 2019, PwC pledged to anonymize and aggregate staff data to win support for wearables, and applications to the trial program were oversubscribed within minutes of opening.

Implications for workplace monitoring

Wider implications of workplace monitoring may include: 

• Wearable technologies streamlining access to physical and mental health resources for employees.


• Governments creating more stringent worker privacy laws to protect workers from being exploited by their employers through monitoring and surveillance tools. 


• An increase in civil lawsuits by workers regarding their respective employers' unlawful or inappropriate use of monitoring tools.


• Worker unions lobbying against the implementation of workplace monitoring tools and causing disruptions in the everyday business operations of companies. 


• A general normalization of using monitoring and surveillance tools in more aspects of everyday life.


• Enhanced focus on ethical AI by companies, leading to the development of more transparent and accountable AI systems.


• Increased demand for specialized legal expertise in workplace privacy, influencing the legal industry's growth and evolution.

Questions to consider

• Does your workplace use any monitoring technology? If so, do you feel uncomfortable being monitored?


• Do you think Governors must update your country's privacy laws to protect employees against workplace monitoring tools?