One to watch about being watched!

There is a programme on BBC Two this evening about electronic surveillance in the workplace.

It's called Who's Watching You.

If you miss the programme you have until Monday 8th June to watch it on the BBC's iPlayer.

Some details:

Surveillance is an expanding market and for those wanting to watch and listen there is an extensive armoury.

Adrian Mudd sells spying equipment. Not to James Bond types, but to anyone who wants to listen.

Employers, along with suspicious partners and private detectives, make up the bulk of his customers.

The range of secret kit is extraordinary.

Pens that plug into computers and record every keystroke.

Plugs containing hidden phones that allow you to listen in on a room.

Adrian's business is worth half a million pounds a year.

For more details see When employers become watchers (by Richard Bilton).

Someone to watch over me - at home!

I came across a really good article via the BBC News website the other day - it looks at the 'latest technology' that allows employees to monitor the productivity of their staff who have the 'luxury' of working at home.

It mainly relates to customer sales agents.

Some details:

Conversations with customers are recorded and analysed by bosses, and performance is monitored constantly by software on her computer.

If you step away for any reason without logging off, the machine will know about it.

Some software suppliers claim that such technology is capable of detecting an angry agent or even a baby crying in the same room.

If there is not a steady stream of mouse movements or keyboard strikes from the machine of a team member, the worker stops accumulating paid minutes.

Modern life is just so good.

See Home work being closely watched by Ian Hardy for more details.

Nowhere to run, no where to hide?

A very interesting story about electronic surveillance in the workplace graces the pages of The Times today.

I think the title sums up the development very well - Microsoft seeks patent for office 'spy' software (Alexi Mostrous and David Brown).

In more detail:

- Microsoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity, physical wellbeing and competence.

- It's a computer system that links workers to their computers via wireless sensors that measure their metabolism.

- It would allow managers to monitor employees’ performance by measuring their heart rate, body temperature, movement, facial expression and blood pressure.

It's early days yet, but you just feel the marketing people working away right now coming up with biggest load of phony corporate rhetoric - to convince employees that it's all about their welfare and prosperity - that the corporate world as ever seen.

The reader comments that come with the article certainly go far beyond my criticisms.

Extreme mystery shopping

No, it's not a new extreme sport!

An article courtesy of BBC News: Business looks at the life of Colin Shaw who is said to represent a "new breed of mystery shopper".

What's supposedly new is that the extreme mystery shopper goes to great lengths to give chief executives and boards of directors an insight into what is happening on their shop or call centre floor.

The techniques used by an extreme mystery shopper include tie pin camera and hidden microphone.

The article itself - Mystery shopper takes it to extreme (Julian Knight) - is all about what businesses can learn from a customer's perspective, yet there seems to be little regard of the ethical dimension of literally spying on workers.