Here we look at the trend of ‘job boomeranging’, the reasons why the trend occurred, and why businesses may choose to re-hire boomerangers.

What Is It? 

Job boomeranging refers to when an employee leaves a company and then returns to work for the same company at a later date.

How Has It Come About? 

The term ‘job boomeranging’ was coined by Anthony C. Klotz, Associate Professor of Management, Organisations and Innovation Group, at UCL School of Management in London. According to Anthony Klotz, boomeranging (returning to the same job after leaving) is happening because workers left their jobs in what he calls ‘The Great Resignation’ and then suffered ‘The Big Regret’.

What Is The ‘Great Resignation’? 

‘The Great Resignation’ is the trend of employees leaving their jobs and companies en masse, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in June 2021, the monthly JOLTS report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released their report that 2.8 per cent of the workforce (4 million people) had left their jobs. This was the highest amount of voluntary turnover ever recorded since tracking began in 2000 and was 15 per cent higher than the same month in 2019 (which had been the highest April on record). Klotz says that ‘The Great Resignation’ trend’ is continuing as ‘monthly quits’ were recorded as exceeding the 4 million mark 11 times in the following 12 months and had reached 4.4 million in four of the six months in the first half of last year.

Fuelled By Reports Of Higher Earnings And Better Lives Elsewhere 

The trend in the US has been fuelled by reports that those switching jobs have found work with higher earnings and a better work-life balance. For example, Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. government data showed that from April 2021 to March 2022, 60 per cent of workers switching jobs saw an increase in their real earnings over the same month the previous year. This reportedly happened despite a surge in the rate of inflation that eroded real earnings for many others. The same analysis showed that among workers who stayed with the same employer, less than half (47 per cent) saw a real earnings increase.

‘The Great Resignation’ – A Global Phenomenon 

The trend isn’t just confined to the US and appears to be a global phenomenon. For example, here in the UK, although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the unemployment rate reach 4.9 per cent in the three months to November 2020 (the highest rate since 2016) and the number of people on payrolls in the UK fell by 730,000 between March and November 2020 (the largest fall on record) people were also leaving their jobs as well as simply losing their jobs. In the UK, job-to-job movement reached an all-time high between October and December 2021. For example, the UK’s Labour Force Survey (November 2021) showed that, of the 1.02 million people who moved jobs between July and September 2021, 391,000 of them had resigned. This was the highest spike ever recorded by the LFS.

A 2021 survey (Professor Lynda Gratton) among 150 executives from 23 companies in the U.S., Asia, and Europe in late 2021 showed that, in reply to the question “what’ is the biggest challenges facing business right now?” the no.1 response was ‘retaining people’, closely followed by ‘recruiting people’.

Why?  

Some of the key reasons believed to be behind the trend include:

– Economic uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in unemployment, with many businesses closing or reducing their workforce. This has made it difficult for many people to find stable employment and has increased the likelihood of job loss.

– Work-life balance. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of work-life balance for many people. With the ability to work from home, people may be looking for jobs that offer more flexibility and a better balance between their personal and professional lives.

– Personal circumstances. The pandemic has forced many people to re-evaluate their personal circumstances and priorities, leading some to make changes in their careers. For example, some may have been ‘quiet quitting’ for some time and the pandemic conditions plus reports of others leaving and finding a better life and wages may have motivated them to move.

– Mental health. The pandemic took a toll on people’s mental health. Remote work may have blurred the lines between work and personal life, leading to burnout and increasing the desire for a change in career.

– Remote work. The shift to remote work has made it easier for people to find new job opportunities, even if they are not in their immediate geographical area. This has increased the ability for people to change jobs more easily.

– Business closures. The pandemic has led to the closure of many businesses, leaving employees without jobs.

– As highlighted by Professor Dan Cable, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, the pandemic led to people being confronted with the reality of their mortality spurring a phase of post-traumatic growth. Also, Professor Cable believes that people living longer, is having an impact on our relationship with work whereby they seek the flexibility to match the different stages of their life.

What’s Changed Now? The ‘Big Regret’ 

It is thought that following ‘The Great Resignation’, the job boomerang trend is part of what Anthony Klotz calls ‘The Big Regret’.  As highlighted by a UKG survey across six countries in 2022 among 1,950 employees who quit their jobs since March 2020, 41 per cent felt they quit their old job too quickly. Also, 43 of job quitters surveyed said they were better off at their old job and 62 per cent agreed that their old job was superior.

Welcome Back? 

Companies appear now to be open to the idea of re-hiring people who are part of the job boomeranging trend. For example, The Microsoft Alumni Network and Microsoft have created a direct “Road to Rehire” for Microsoft Alumni Network members. This is to capitalise on the fact that, in 2019, more than 10 percent of Microsoft’s hires were “boomerangs”.

How Long Does It Take To Boomerang? 

LinkedIn’s Workforce Report indicates that the average time it takes workers to boomerang is 17.3 months, but that number varies across industries.

Why Re-Hire Former Employees? 

The are several good reasons why companies may wish to bring back former employees/job boomerangers. These include:

– They are a lower risk than new (unknown) employees.

– They are familiar with the job, already understand the business culture and values, and may have relationships with existing employees.

– They have already been trained and may get up to speed more quickly than new employees, i.e. saving costs and time.

– Boomerang employees may have gained new skills and experiences while they were away, which can benefit the company, and could share what they have learned.

– Rehiring a former employee can be a cost-effective way for a company to fill a position quickly.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The global pandemic caused a mass loss of jobs and caused many others to re-think their lives and their relationship with work and their individual jobs. Also, inspiration from stories that others had found a better life and higher wages caused many workers to opt for ‘The Great Resignation’. Fast-forward to today’s post-pandemic world with a poor economic outlook, inflation, and a cost-of-living crisis, and where the promise of a better job with better work and better pay may not have materialised in reality.

This has left many have feeling the need for stability as well as the ‘Big Regret’, leading to the boomeranging trend. For businesses looking to fill positions, this has led to the ability to (in many cases) re-hire and gain known-quantity, low-risk, already-trained employees, who may even bring new skills and a new attitude with them. This has allowed businesses to quickly fill positions in a lower-cost way, thereby increasing capacity and helping them to become more competitive.

In this feature, we look at what is known as ‘Davos’ is, why it exists, plus how it can help the worlds of business and technology.

What Is It? 

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an annual meeting held in Davos, a small ski resort town in the Swiss Alps. The WEF meeting in Davos brings together leaders in the business, political and academic communities to discuss and address the most pressing issues facing the world. The meeting is held to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among these leaders in order to find solutions to global problems such as economic inequality, political instability, and environmental degradation. The WEF meeting is also an opportunity for leaders to network and form partnerships to drive positive change in the world.

What Is WEF? 

WEF is an international not-for-profit organization, founded in 1971 by Swiss-German economist and professor Klaus Schwab, with the mission of bringing public and private sectors together to address the global political, social, and economic issues. WEF meetings have taken place annually in Davos for 5 decades, although the 2002 meeting was held in New York as gesture of solidarity following the 9/11 attacks.

Who And When? 

This year’s Davos has already taken place (16-20 January 2023) and the theme was “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”. Full details can be found here: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2023 

Business and Davos 

Given that the invite-only meetings bring public and private sector business executives and policymakers together to discuss a wide range of issues, some of the ways Davos affects business include:

– Facilitating networking and collaboration opportunities for business leaders, which can lead to new partnerships and investments.

– Providing a platform for business leaders to share their perspectives on economic and political issues, and to shape public policy.

– Highlighting emerging trends and technologies that may impact the business landscape.

– Offering insights and analysis on global issues that can affect the economic environment in which companies operate.

– The presence of representatives of non-profit organisations, civil society, and academia, creates opportunities for companies to engage in socially responsible initiatives and to contribute to sustainable development.

Technology and Davos 

The Davos meetings also affect the world of technology in a number of ways. For example:

– Highlighting emerging trends and technologies that may impact the business landscape and the economy.

– Facilitating networking and collaboration opportunities for technology leaders, which can lead to new partnerships and investments.

– Providing a platform for technology leaders to share their perspectives on economic and political issues and to shape public policy.

– Offering insights and analysis on global issues that can affect the technological landscape, such as the impact of automation, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation.

– Creating opportunities for technology companies to engage in socially responsible initiatives and to contribute to sustainable development.

– Organising (WEF) the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (also known as Summer Davos – which actually takes place in China). The event, which began in 2007, is a more technology-focused one, bringing together global leaders to discuss the latest trends and innovations in technology, science, and engineering.

Technology Example 

One reported example of how the recent Davos WEF meeting highlighted new technologies is Meta’s Chris Cox commenting in the tech press about how generative artificial intelligence (the chatbot ChatGPT) has the capability to create image filters (a digital technique for changing the look of an image through an algorithm) for Meta’s company’s Instagram app and other applications.

Successes of Davos 

Three examples of real life successes that have come from the Davos WEF meetings are:

– The Global Vaccine Action Plan, which was launched at the 2011 WEF meeting in Davos, which has been successful in increasing vaccination rates and reducing the number of deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide.

– The World Economic Forum’s Great Energy Transition initiative, launched in 2016 at Davos WEF, which has been successful in bringing together governments, businesses, and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system.

– In 2020, the World Economic Forum’s “Great Reset” initiative was launched during the WEF meeting in Davos, which aims to drive a comprehensive and inclusive reshaping of economies, societies, and politics in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative has brought together leaders from various sectors to collaborate on solutions for the economic and social challenges caused by the pandemic.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Having annual meetings that bring together thousands of leaders and experts from the public and private sectors, and focusing their minds on key issues and encouraging the kind of communication that wouldn’t normally happen can bring everyone up to speed, generate ideas, opportunities, and solutions. Some of these have delivered real economic, social and technological benefits globally. Ultimately, such solutions have benefitted a wide range of businesses in all sectors, and this year’s Davos has seen a recognition of the contribution that technologies like generative artificial intelligence look set to deliver in the near future.

Cumulus Data has announced the completion of key milestone in the construction of Phase 1 of its 475-megawatt zero-carbon “Susquehanna” data centre that’s directly connected to 2.5-gigawatt nuclear power stations.

First Phase –Shell Ready For Lease 

The company, a subsidiary of Talen Energy, says that the construction of the powered shell for its first 48-megawatt, 300,000 square foot data centre is now complete and available for lease.

The Advantages Of Being Connected To Nuclear Power Stations 

Cumulus Data says that having a data centre that’s directly connected to the “Susquehanna” nuclear power stations, without intermediation by legacy electric transmission and distribution utilities, will provide the customer that leases the data centre with “significant value and competitive advantages”.  For example:

– Data centres typically require enormous amounts of energy. Being directly connected to the source (a nuclear power station) can ensure an ultra-reliable, zero-carbon, 24×7 supply.

– Industry-leading total cost of ownership (“TCO”) with the most attractive power rate in the U.S. – a low-cost supply of energy.

– Scalability, flexibility, and time-to-market advantages with build-to-suit options, due to the design of the Cumulus campus.

– Zero-carbon environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) customer benefits.

– As Cumulus CEO Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez states on the company website, having data centres directly connected to nuclear power stations could be a way to “solve the energy ‘trilemma’ which we define as the rapidly increasing consumer demand for zero-carbon, low-cost, and reliable electricity”.

– The ability to supplement the zero-carbon offering with 400 megawatts of new solar generation capacity (currently under development).

When? 

Cumulus Data says that it expects to welcome its first tenant and commence commercial operations at the nuclear-powered data centre this year.

Other Benefits 

In addition to meeting the need for zero-carbon, low-cost, reliable energy to power technology applications, it is anticipated that the “Susquehanna” data centre campus investment could deliver many other benefits. For example, these could include the creation of family-sustaining jobs, the provision of technology training, and economic benefits including tax revenue and increased consumption of local goods and services to both Pennsylvania and the surrounding community.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Data centres have long been a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, due to the large amount of energy they consume for cooling, power, and network operations. There is clearly a need, therefore, to find ways to decrease the amount of carbon that data centre operation produces. For many people, however, nuclear energy comes with concerns about safety and what to do with the highly toxic waste. That said, nuclear energy is a low-carbon source of electricity, benefitting from high energy density and low greenhouse gas emissions in the production of energy. This means that it could, as Cumulus Data believes, play a role in reducing data centre carbon emissions and help to combat climate change. In this sense, having a data centre powered by a direct link to a nuclear power station could be a real step forward in the decarbonisation of data centres. There are, of course, other methods currently being tried e.g., using immersion cooling technology, and using more generally more efficient cooling systems, server virtualisation, and dynamic power management, but these are more related to reducing the amount of carbon in operation and cooling rather than in the supply of energy to the data centre. Cumulus Data’s nuclear powered data centre also appears to be able to offer some significant cost savings to tenants and other benefits to the area in addition to the low-carbon energy on-tap, and the reliable power source which may make it a very economically attractive option.

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– In the Google search box type mustang –car to exclude any references to cars. Note that the space before the hyphen is important.

– You will now see a page of search engine results for mustang that don’t contain any car references.

This second part of ‘Why Use Outsourced IT Support?’ focuses on what kind of questions to ask when looking for your ideal outsourced IT support company.

10 Important Questions 

Here, we’ll focus on 10 important questions (although you may have others) and the reasons why you may want to ask them.

1. What specific services do you offer and how do they align with my business needs?

Understanding the specific services offered by an IT support company is crucial in determining whether they can meet your business needs. This will also help you understand the level of expertise and experience the company has in areas that are important to your business.

2. Can you provide references/testimonials or case studies of similar clients?

References/testimonials and case studies can provide valuable insight into the company’s past performance and the types of businesses they have worked with. This can give you a sense of the company’s level of expertise and their ability to deliver results.

3. How do you handle and prioritise service requests?

Knowing how the IT support company handles and prioritises service requests is important to ensure that critical issues are addressed promptly and that your business can continue to operate smoothly.

4. How do you ensure the security and privacy of my data?

With the prevalence of cybercrime and the potentially devastating consequences to the business and customers from breaches and hacks, the security and privacy of your data is now of the utmost importance. It is essential to understand the measures that the company takes to protect your data.

5. How do you handle communication and updates during an ongoing project or service?

Clear and consistent communication is vital to the success of any project or ongoing service. Understanding how the company handles updates and communicates with clients can help you gauge their level of responsiveness and customer service.

6. How do you handle and resolve conflicts or issues that may arise?

Issues and conflicts are very likely to arise during the course of a project or service, so it is important to understand how the company handles and resolves these situations.

7. How do you measure the success and effectiveness of your services?

Measuring the success and effectiveness of the services provided by an IT support company is essential to ensure that your business is getting the best value for its investment.

8. What are your availability and response times for support?

Knowing the availability and response times of the company’s support team is important to ensure that your business can get the help it needs when it needs it.

9. What is your pricing model and are there any additional costs?

It’s important to understand the pricing model used by the company and any additional costs that may be incurred. This can help you budget for the services and avoid any unexpected expenses.

10. What certifications and qualifications do your staff have?

Certification and qualifications of the staff are important to ensure that the company has skilled and experienced professionals on hand to handle your IT needs. This can help you have the confidence in their capabilities to provide the right solutions for your business.

Other Considerations 

Other things businesses may consider when looking for an outsourced IT support company could include:

– Proximity and Accessibility

Considering the location of the IT support company and how easily you can access them. It can be beneficial to have a local company that can quickly respond to on-site needs.

– Scalability

As your business grows and evolves, your IT needs will change. It’s important to consider if the company can accommodate those changes and if they can provide scalable solutions to match your business growth.

– Technical Expertise

Consider the technical expertise of the company and their ability to provide solutions for your specific industry or business type.

Service Level Agreement (SLA): An SLA is a contract that outlines the level of service and support that the company will provide. It’s important to understand the terms of the SLA and if it meets the needs of your business.

– Cloud-Based Services

Many businesses are continuing to move to cloud-based solutions for their IT needs. It’s important to consider whether the company provides cloud-based services and if they have experience in this area.

– Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Consider the company’s disaster recovery and business continuity plan in case of an emergency or major interruption.

– Compliance and Regulations

If your business is subject to certain regulations, it’s important to ensure that the company can provide solutions that are compliant with those regulations.

– Cost-Benefit Analysis

Carefully evaluate the cost of the services provided by the company and the benefits they bring to your business. Compare it with other providers to ensure you are getting the best value for your investment.

– Partnership and Partnership Model

Consider if the company is interested in building a long-term partnership with your business and if their business model supports that kind of relationship.

– On-Going Support and Maintenance

This is a critical consideration when looking for an outsourced IT support provider because it ensures that your business will receive the necessary support and maintenance to keep your IT systems running smoothly and efficiently. It includes regular updates, backups, security patches, and troubleshooting. This is important to ensure that your IT infrastructure is always up-to-date and secure, and that any issues are addressed promptly.

On-going support and maintenance also includes proactive monitoring and maintenance, to detect and resolve any potential issues before they become major problems. This can help to reduce downtime and increase the overall reliability and stability of your IT systems.

Additionally, on-going support and maintenance includes keeping your systems compliant with any industry regulations and standards and providing your business with the necessary support to manage changes, upgrades, and new technology adoption.

Having an IT support provider that offers on-going support and maintenance can provide peace of mind and allow your business to focus on its core operations, rather than worrying about the maintenance of IT systems.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The sheer number of companies now opting for outsourced IT support is a reminder of how important the benefits are, e.g. cost savings and improved efficiency, on-demand expertise, and being able to focus more on their core operations. IT now plays such a central role to businesses that choosing the right outsourced IT support company is an important decision that could have a serious impact on the business going forward. This is why, as with so many things, being able to ask the right questions can be the key to making the right decisions. The above questions, therefore, may prove particularly useful if your businesses is considering outsourcing IT support.

Following a recent case where a remote worker was fined for ‘time theft’, we look at what it is, the legal and ethical aspects, and how it relates to employee monitoring software.

What Is Time Theft? 

‘Time theft’ refers to any instance in which an employee is paid for time they did not actually work. This can include activities such as arriving late or leaving early, taking extended breaks, or using company time for personal activities. Additionally, employees who falsify time records, or who do not accurately report the time they have worked, can also be guilty of time theft. It’s important to note that these actions are not only unethical, but also illegal.

The penalties for time theft can vary depending on the company’s policies and the severity of the infraction and can range from verbal or written warnings to fines or termination of employment.

Recent Case In The News 

A recent case where a remote working employee was fined for ‘time theft’ following the use of staff monitoring software by their employers has sparked debate about the subject. Canadian, British Columbia-based accountant, Carlee Besse, who worked remotely for Reach CPA, was dismissed, and ordered by civil tribunal to pay Reach CPA £1,691 for a form of misconduct known as ‘time theft’. In Ms Besse’s case, it referred to 50 hours on her timesheets that she “did not appear to have spent on work-related tasks”. The discrepancy in the hours recorded and those worked were recorded by TimeCamp staff-tracking software that had been put on her work laptop following the commencement of weekly performance meetings with her manager.

Proportionate 

Miss Besse lost her case, despite claiming that:

– She had found the software difficult to use.

– She couldn’t make the software differentiate between work and personal use.

– She’d spent a great deal of time working with paper copies of client documents that weren’t captured by TimeCamp (which TimeCamp was able to disprove).

– Taking Reach CPA to court for wrongful termination seeking £3,066 compensation for unpaid wages and severance.

Claims Thrown Out And Fined 

The judge threw out her claims for wrongful termination and compensation and ordered that she pay the fine for ‘time theft’ in returned wages and part of a previous advance she had received. Tribunal member Megan Stewart was reported as finding that Reach (which was able to submit TimeCamp videos to back its case) had proved that Ms Besse had engaged in ‘time theft,’ describing it as “a very serious form of misconduct”. Megan Stewart is also reported as saying about the case: “Given that trust and honesty are essential to an employment relationship, particularly in a remote-work environment where direct supervision is absent, I find Miss Besse’s misconduct led to an irreparable breakdown in her employment relationship with Reach and that dismissal was proportionate in the circumstances.” 

What Does UK Law Say About ‘Time Theft’ Fines?

Although the example case shown above was in Canada, in the United Kingdom, fining employees for ‘time theft’ is also legal as long as it is done in accordance with the company’s policies and procedures, and with relevant employment laws.

The main employment law that relates to ‘time theft’ is the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). The WTR sets out the rights of employees in relation to working time, including maximum working hours, rest breaks and annual leave. Under the worker safety aspects of WTR, employers have a legal duty to ensure that employees do not work more than 48 hours per week on average, which includes overtime. In order to do so, employers are also required to keep accurate records of the hours worked by their employees and to ensure that employees take the rest breaks to which they are entitled. Employers who fail to comply with these requirements may be subject to penalties, fines, or legal action.

However, in addition, an employer has a right to discipline an employee for misconduct, if the employee is not following the company’s rules and policies. This can include disciplinary action for ‘time theft’, as long as the employer can demonstrate that the employee has committed an offence, and the disciplinary action is proportionate and fair.

It is important to note that employees also have rights to appeal against any disciplinary action taken against them, and they can raise a grievance or make a claim to an employment tribunal if they believe that they have been treated unfairly, as Ms Besse argued in the recent case in Canada.

Is It Ethical And What Are The Issues?

The ethics of fining people for time theft can be a complex and nuanced issue. Some argue that fining employees for time theft is a necessary measure to ensure that employees are held accountable for their actions and that the company’s resources are being used effectively. Others argue that fining employees for time theft may be seen as too harsh a punishment, particularly if the infraction is relatively minor or if the employee had a valid reason for their actions. Other ethical issues around fining employees for time theft include:

– It can create a negative and adversarial relationship between employees and employers, which can lead to a toxic work environment. This can result in increased employee turnover, decreased productivity, and lower employee morale.

– It may disproportionately affect low-income employees or those who are struggling financially. This can result in a situation where employees are less likely to report time theft, for fear of being fined or losing their job.

– It can also be seen as a symptom of a larger problem, such as a lack of trust or communication between employees and employers, or a lack of clear policies and procedures. In these cases, addressing the underlying problem may be a more effective solution than fining employees for time theft.

Each Case Is Different 

It’s important to remember that each case is different and that the action taken, including fining, should be proportionate to the offence and considerate of the employee’s personal circumstances. Employers should also explore all possible options before taking disciplinary action and consider the potential consequences of the action.

Staff Monitoring Software 

In this case, it was the use of TimeCamp monitoring software that enabled Reach CPA to gather the evidence and to sack and fine the employee, and protect the company from her compensation claim. The use of staff/employee surveillance/monitoring software had a huge boost during the pandemic as a way of tracking productivity, attendance, and compliance with company policies.

Monitoring Up 

Back in November 2021, a Prospect trade union poll revealed that 32 per cent of UK workers were being remotely monitored and tracked by employers. The poll (conducted by Opinium on behalf of Prospect) showed that young workers (18 to 34) are particularly at risk of a higher rate of monitoring. The poll showed that 48 per cent of younger workers reported being monitored at work, including 20 per cent being monitored using cameras. The poll also showed that the number of employees under remote surveillance had risen by 8 per cent (from 24 per cent) in just 6 months and that there’d been a doubling of the usage of camera monitoring in people’s homes.

It is thought that half of large corporations now use staff monitoring software although this varies depending on the industry and size of the company. It is, however, becoming more common as technology has advanced and it becomes more affordable for companies to implement. It’s not uncommon anyway to see monitoring software used in call centres, financial institutions, retail, and other industries where productivity and compliance are important.

What’s Being Monitored? 

The kinds of metrics and details that employee monitoring software can highlight are:

– Taking sample screenshots/recording screens.

– Whether employees are active/inactive during working hours.

– How much time is spent on the Internet, plus whether games are being played or social media accessed too much.

– Whether employees are using work devices for work or private purposes.

Is Employee Monitoring Legal? 

Data protection (the data gathered about individual employees), and privacy are the key concerns where there is currently legal protection related to monitoring employees with software and cameras. Relevant laws include Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights whereby individuals have a non-absolute right to respect for their private and family life and correspondence, and (UK) GDPR. Under GDPR, data needs to be processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently as well as being collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes. Also, monitoring data must be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary for those purposes.

The guidance from ACAS is that although employers can monitor employees, workers are entitled to some privacy at work and employers must tell employees about any monitoring arrangements and the reason for it. Employers should have procedures in place setting out what is and what isn’t allowed, plus these procedures should be made clear and understood by all workers before monitoring begins. Generally, employers must have a genuine reason to conduct covert monitoring such as criminal activities or malpractice, and any monitoring should be limited, targeted and within certain times, and employers should also have regard for private communications.

Is It Ethical To Use Employee Monitoring Software? 

There are several ethical concerns about using employee monitoring software. Some of the main concerns include:

– Privacy. Monitoring software can track and record employee’s actions, including emails, chats, and keystrokes, which can be seen as an invasion of privacy.

– Trust. Employees may feel that their employer doesn’t trust them if they are being constantly monitored. This can lead to low morale and decreased job satisfaction.

– Discrimination. Monitoring software could be used to discriminate against certain employees, such as those who take more breaks or have different working styles.

– Productivity. Over-monitoring employees can lead to burnout and decreased productivity as employees feel like they are constantly being watched and judged.

What Does This Mean Your Business? 

The remote working of the pandemic and the fact that employee monitoring software is now widely available, generally affordable, and relatively reliable have boosted demand and usage by employers. Many workplaces are monitored anyway by other means, e.g. cameras. The key points of this particular case are that companies can legitimately and legally use employee monitoring software as long as reasons, policies, and procedures for its use are made clear and understood by all workers before monitoring begins. In this case, the reason was for monthly productivity meetings. This case also highlights the importance of two-way trust in the work relationship, and that there are ethical, legal, and cultural aspects to employee monitoring, not least privacy, that employers and employees need to be aware of.

It may be interesting for many people to discover that there is an area of misconduct called ‘time theft’ that can result in dismissal and fines but that it depends very much on the situation and the business how this issue is addressed. This story also highlights how many serious aspects of our lives can now be governed by software, e.g. AI being used for employment application screening or, as in this case, gathering evidence for reward or punishment by employers. This is a trend that is only set to continue although transparency, clarity (from the outset), good old-fashioned management skills and striking the right balance are also important in creating the right working conditions where employee satisfaction and productivity are maximised.