More than 8 companies out of every 10 have admitted to actively spying on their UK employees. Still, over half of the British workers said they would be ready to leave their jobs if they were subjected to the workplace.
These are the tensions that rise over the British area of work revealed by the latest research conducted by ExpressVPN, one of the best VPN providers in the market.
“These findings highlight an urgent need for greater transparency and confidence at work,” said Lauren Hendry Parsons, Lawyer for Privacy at Expressvpn.
While we are all used to physical surveillance at work – think about all security cameras or your personal badge – remote work on remote work is not so visible. As remote work becomes more widespread, managers find new ways to monitor their employees.
Known as Bossware (PortManteau of Boss and Spyware) refers to software installed on workers’ devices to monitor their activities. This may include the sites they visit, the apps they use, key pressure and even screen monitoring to measure performance and productivity levels.
The team of privacy experts interviewed 1,000 employees and 1,000 employers all over the country to discover their attitude towards this rising trend and revealed a clear discrepancy between British managers and employees.
As mentioned earlier, 85% of employers in the UK admitted to having used some form of online monitoring. Not only that, almost three -quarters of British bosses (72%) said they were more comfortable with personal work as it requires less monitoring.
On the other hand, British workers have expressed concern about the surveillance of the workplace, with the vast majority of (79%) claiming that the government should better regulate the use of Bossware technologies.
Almost half of the respondents (42%) believe that online communication monitoring, such as E emails, chats and video calls, should be unethical. Nevertheless, 45% of employees suspect they have already been the subject of the workplace monitoring.
Worrying, even more Britons (46%) said the prospect of their boss spying on their online activities and communication has an impact on their stress and anxiety levels. A few respondents (17%) would even be willing to take a paycheck of 25% to avoid being monitored.
According to Parsons, employers must find a balance between enabling productivity and respecting employees’ privacy, regardless of where their employees work.
She said: “The overpowered can lead to a toxic work environment, increased stress, lower productivity and ultimately higher revenue. It is important for organizations to adopt transparent and ethical surveillance practices that prioritize their employee’s well -being.”
