This 45-minute break in surveillance caused considerable grief and anxiety for the company. A perceived productivity loss of $27 (the worker’s hourly rate) resulted in several meetings involving members of upper management, formal letters of correspondence, and a written warning delivered to the worker.
Such actions would have cost the company considerably more than $27 in time and labour, demonstrating WFH surveillance is not just about productivity—it’s about power and control.”
THE FINALE
In the final scene of our horror movie, the employee realises the only way to escape this toxic captivity, is to break free. That is, leave the organisation for a better one. The sequel to this movie is “The Great Realisation” in which the employee defeats the captor realising they deserve better.
When employers use surveillance software to monitor employee activity in the guise of checking on productivity it is just screaming at employees -
“I DO NOT TRUST YOU”
It also says that we have bosses who are not capable of measuring performance by outputs rather than inputs – outcomes rather than hours.
We have bosses who use command and control and micromanagement.
They fear loss of control. They are power driven. They want things done their way and they want to be seen as the expert. They are insecure, lack confidence, and have trust issues. They do not provide any support or resources to employees.
Whilst some bosses just love this way of working, for many they micromanage because they are unaware of any other style of managing. They were probably micromanaged and due to a lack of development, support, and coaching, they have adopted the style of the boss that went before them. Just as in the 12 Halloween movies, the plot keeps repeating itself.
In February 2021, I introduced my followers to my Hybrid Leadership Model and the capacities and competencies needed by leaders.
In February 2022, I explored the leadership point on my “Future of Work Redesigned Compass.” I talked about the leadership capacities and the competencies needed to lead high performing hybrid teams.
I am not going to describe each of those in this newsletter but rather invite you to look at the February 2022 issues.