Reply to: BigBrother! Monitoring software.....

[JIDEARE]

eggshells

Nope, but I can guarantee it would be a very short experience.

Life's too short for this sort of management bulltulip. In fact I wish I had some twat try to implement this in a contract just so I could show how little of a tulip I gave about it, and see what inventive workarounds I could find to keep it entertaining while it lasted.

That keyboard weeble is a good one. Saw it in an episode of The Simpsons where Homer set one up at his work to always press 'Yes' when the system kept asking him questions. Predictably, it ended up with him blowing up the nuclear reactor.

Personally I'd look around for another contract and in the meantime laugh out loud whenever you hear anyone mentioning the tracking and how fearful they are. I'd be winding the permies up, particularly any management supporting this practice, it's what they deserve for putting up with this tulip.

I did have a client where they had some very bad management practices, for the permies, I used my contractor 'not interested in it, I'm just here to finish this project' get out of permie bollocks card and ignored all their 'must do this or must not say that' happy clappy bulltulip. Unfortunately I wasn't in the office on the day a fellow contractor stood up and exclaimed it was all a load of bollocks and the management were dickheads and walked out. I would have given him as standing ovation. That wasn't as bad as this tracking stuff though.

I'm currently in a place where apparently the last guy had got up after a meeting, gave them a piece of his mind, unplugged his laptop, handed his work phone back and done a wheel spin past the front door. Needless to say they did reign it in and sometimes you feel they walk on egg shells when they have to ask me (his replacement) to do stuff. "err... can we please check that it's okay if we ask this of you". Lol

[billybiro]

I did not want to go into details - 100% it was running for everyone that worked there. I even got an email report the next morning telling me how hard i worked the previous day, including words typed and mouse movement times LOL . Apparently the first day of 8 hours I worked 63% - I admit I was in a lot of meetings.

@WTFH - There's your answer!

[billybiro]

But we don't know that the client has gone to far - the OP just googled the software capabilities, then heard rumours from staff (who had probably just done the same thing). There is no evidence as to what level he software has been implemented.

But the very fact that the client is even thinking about deploying such software speaks volumes.

[pauldee]

The sad thing is almost every piece of in-house software I've written has some sort of KPI reporting functionality that managers use to assess their staff with.

[woodyuk]

But we don't know that the client has gone to far - the OP just googled the software capabilities, then heard rumours from staff (who had probably just done the same thing). There is no evidence as to what level he software has been implemented.

I did not want to go into details - 100% it was running for everyone that worked there. I even got an email report the next morning telling me how hard i worked the previous day, including words typed and mouse movement times LOL . Apparently the first day of 8 hours I worked 63% - I admit I was in a lot of meetings.

[woodyuk]

Right! The only real question is whether you should laugh hysterically at the idea before or after telling them where to go.

Quick update. So found out how to uninstall the software. HR bod approached me asking why and I said not willing to run it, if you want me to leave then no problem. Not heard from them since. Think they try it on and see who puts up a fight.

[vwdan]

Frankly I'd tell them to fook right off. What on earth are you doing?

Right! The only real question is whether you should laugh hysterically at the idea before or after telling them where to go.

[greenlake]

Some I work with have to cover their working day with logged activities.

[greenlake]

"Workplace Yoga" they called it.

[WTFH]

Whilst I'd normally be all for trying to reason things out with a client before just walking out on them, in cases like this, where the client has really gone this far in intruding, big-bother style, into every waking minute of their employee's (and, even worse, contractor's) time, they're also far beyond trying to reason with. By all means, tell them why you're walking out when you do so, but don't expect them to understand or care.

But we don't know that the client has gone to far - the OP just googled the software capabilities, then heard rumours from staff (who had probably just done the same thing). There is no evidence as to what level he software has been implemented.

[radish2008]

HSCB implemented a monitoring app whilst i was there last year.

"Workplace Yoga" they called it.

Arbeit macht frei sprang to mind. :nazi:

qh

I think that was for permies. Some I work with have to cover their working day with logged activities.

[SeanT]

GTFO

[quackhandle]

HSCB implemented a monitoring app whilst i was there last year.

"Workplace Yoga" they called it.

Arbeit macht frei sprang to mind. :nazi:

qh

[billybiro]

Try talking to them and explaining why you are walking, and point out the GDPR consequences of their actions.

You never know, they might actually listen...

Whilst I'd normally be all for trying to reason things out with a client before just walking out on them, in cases like this, where the client has really gone this far in intruding, big-bother style, into every waking minute of their employee's (and, even worse, contractor's) time, they're also far beyond trying to reason with. By all means, tell them why you're walking out when you do so, but don't expect them to understand or care.

[greenlake]

or one of these with a real mouse

Get out before it's too late....!