[UK] Half of bosses are for employee monitoring but HR is less positive

According to new research, management and people professionals have opposing opinions on the subject of monitoring remote employees’ productivity, People Management reports.

The CIPD study of 2,000 senior managers, HR decision makers and line managers has revealed that more than half (55 per cent) support monitoring employees’ habits to determine their risk of burnout. 

The survey was conducted as part of CIPD’s Technology, the workplace and people management report. It found that two in five (39 per cent) bosses think collecting information on regular home workers is unacceptable and 6 per cent are unsure. But two in five (41 per cent) people professionals were ‘less comfortable’ with these measures.

Gemma Dale - lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and co-founder of The Work Consultancy - told People Management that companies might want to gather information on remote workers to identify dangers to their wellness, however she cautioned that certain data measures can be misleading. “Time [spent] on laptops is a blunt measure. A lot of usage time does not necessarily equal overwork; similarly neither does working out of hours as employees may simply be working in a time flexible way,” she said, adding that people professionals should have clear reasoning for monitoring and also be aware of any drawbacks. 

“I would urge HR professionals to think carefully about the advice they provide to their organisations in this relation to remote monitoring, and ensure that any such monitoring is undertaken fairly and with complete transparency,” she said. 

Despite more than half of bosses reportedly being for monitoring the productivity of their home working employees, the survey found less than three in 10 (28 per cent) were actually doing it. 

Source: People Management

(Quotes via original reporting)

According to new research, management and people professionals have opposing opinions on the subject of monitoring remote employees’ productivity, People Management reports.

The CIPD study of 2,000 senior managers, HR decision makers and line managers has revealed that more than half (55 per cent) support monitoring employees’ habits to determine their risk of burnout. 

The survey was conducted as part of CIPD’s Technology, the workplace and people management report. It found that two in five (39 per cent) bosses think collecting information on regular home workers is unacceptable and 6 per cent are unsure. But two in five (41 per cent) people professionals were ‘less comfortable’ with these measures.

Gemma Dale - lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and co-founder of The Work Consultancy - told People Management that companies might want to gather information on remote workers to identify dangers to their wellness, however she cautioned that certain data measures can be misleading. “Time [spent] on laptops is a blunt measure. A lot of usage time does not necessarily equal overwork; similarly neither does working out of hours as employees may simply be working in a time flexible way,” she said, adding that people professionals should have clear reasoning for monitoring and also be aware of any drawbacks. 

“I would urge HR professionals to think carefully about the advice they provide to their organisations in this relation to remote monitoring, and ensure that any such monitoring is undertaken fairly and with complete transparency,” she said. 

Despite more than half of bosses reportedly being for monitoring the productivity of their home working employees, the survey found less than three in 10 (28 per cent) were actually doing it. 

Source: People Management

(Quotes via original reporting)