The Daily

The Rise of Workplace Surveillance

Aug 24, 2022

Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times known for her insights into workplace issues, discusses the growing trend of electronic monitoring in American workplaces. She reveals how this surveillance affects not just productivity but also emotional well-being and trust between employees and employers. The conversation dives into the fine line between efficiency and privacy, the psychological impacts of constant tracking, and even the humorous lengths employees go to avoid scrutiny, like using mouse jigglers.

31:43

Creator website

Episode guests

Jodi Kantor

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Monitoring Makes the World of Work More Fair

02:31

The Rise of the Employee Productivity Score

02:19

How Productivity Scores Are Changing the Way We Work

03:48

Intro

4min

The Reality of Workplace Surveillance

6min

The New Normal of Workplace Surveillance

8min

The Productivity Paradox

3min

Navigating Workplace Surveillance and Trust Issues

2min

Balancing Surveillance and Compassion

7min

Political Updates and Future Generations

3min

Across industries and income brackets, a growing number of American workers are discovering that their productivity is being electronically monitored by their bosses.

This technology is giving employers a means to gauge what their employees are doing and it’s already impacting how much and when people get paid.

Times investigative reporters have discovered that this tracking software is more common than one might think.

Guest: Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading:

Across industries and incomes, more employees are being tracked, recorded and ranked. What is gained, companies say, is efficiency and accountability. What is lost?

For more information on today’s episode, visit

nytimes.com/thedaily

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