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This Monday, the general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (Uncle Sam's top worker lawyer) urged regulators to disallow companies' use of productivity software in ways that might stifle employees' unionization.
Why? In short, the proliferation of "bossware" is getting out of hand.
About 60% of large employers now use computer-monitoring tools today, which is roughly double what the figure was before you started working in pajamas from your kitchen.
These tools screenshot the websites you visit, record your face and voice, log your keystrokes, track your locations, and monitor your calls and text messages.
It's already illegal for employers to surveil worker communication on working conditions. And yet, America's largest corporations seemingly never "got the memo." Amazon uses heat maps to identify employee groups likely to unionize and Google automatically alerts managers to any meeting with more than 100 employees, for instance.
"Close, constant surveillance and management through electronic means threaten employees' basic ability to exercise their rights," Jennifer Abruzzo warns in the memo.
Other officials share Abruzzo's concern. Rep. Robert Scott, a Democrat from Virginia and the chairman of the House Education and Labor committee, recently asked the Biden administration to investigate employers' use of monitoring software for at-home workers.
Bottom line: employee monitoring efforts will continue to rapidly grow unless regulators step in. For now, maybe continue suppressing your urge to email that meme you made about your boss to Greg in accounting.
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