Monitoring employees at work is a standard practice at any organization, but where do we draw the line on workplace surveillance? AT&T is reigning in its attendance tracking system after the controversial practice left workers frustrated and called the accuracy of the system into question. The use of this system has been controversial from the start.
Worried that employees wouldn’t fully commit to the RTO policy, AT&T’s tracking system was introduced to ensure workers couldn’t fake productive time spent at their desks. The “presence reporting” system was implemented to address “freeloaders” within the organization, who AT&T believed were shirking their responsibilities and finding workarounds to avoid showing up at the office as required. As AT&T scales back surveillance, we have to ask, where do we draw the line on the ethics of employee monitoring?
The AT&T attendance tracking system is being reined in after mounting complaints from frustrated employees and concerns about accuracy. (Image: Pexels)
AT&T’s Attendance Tracking System Faces Backlash Following Employee Frustration
Return-to-work mandates are showing up everywhere you look, and they’re introducing a fair assortment of problems with them. When AT&T’s RTO policy was initially announced, employees were vocal about their reluctance to comply with the terms and forcefully return to the office. Their reluctance was magnified when they faced issues with the limited accommodations available for the influx of workers, with many complaining about the lack of desks and parking spaces at work.
Employees were also unhappy with AT&T’s presence reporting system, which doubled down on ensuring that workers were adhering to regulations through a multi-faceted system of badge swipes, mobile location data, laptop network connections, etc. The system was set up to ensure that no workers could slack off and that the time they spent in the office was well accounted for.
Now, the AT&T attendance system issues have escalated to the point where the company is easing the regulations it has set in place.
AT&T’s RTO Tracking System Is Being Relaxed Due to Inaccuracies
Business Insider recently acquired audio from an AT&T meeting last month, where Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Kellyn Kenny announced that her division would be relaxing its reliance on presence tracking. More recently, reports indicate that the tracking system will be relaxed for all salaried employees across the organization.
Part of the reason for this decision stems from the fact that employees are being driven to the “brink of frustration.” In a recent survey among employees, many expressed their frustrations with regard to the system. While the survey didn’t directly enquire about the presence reporting system, a question of whether the “policies and systems support me in delivering my best work,” was met with a resounding “no,” followed by complaints with regard to the attendance tracking setup.
Additionally, the company also found evidence to suggest that AT&T’s presence reporting system was not accurate. The dearth of reliable data likely complicated the use of a system that was leaving workers frustrated, prompting AT&T to pull back on its attendance tracking to a degree, if not entirely. The company claims it has met its goals of identifying “freeloaders,” which is a large part of the decision to step back now.
AT&T’s Presence Reporting System Adds to the General Rise of Workplace Surveillance
AT&T’s attendance system issues may have led the organization to dial down on its workplace monitoring strategy, but the company isn’t alone in using available technology to keep a close eye on workers. Over the last few years, the use of surveillance tech in the workplace has grown by a large margin.
During the pandemic years, there was an increase in the number of organizations using software to ensure that employees were on their computers consistently during work hours. Now, remote monitoring software has been a normalized part of many work-from-home operations.
With the reluctance surrounding RTO policies and the rise of trends like coffee badging, where workers show up at the workplace briefly before returning to work from home, employers are understandably anxious to ensure that employees adhere to policy instead of taking shortcuts.
From Amazon to PwC, businesses have become more careful about monitoring employees at work, but there is the violation of privacy and erosion of trust to consider here.
The Ethics of Workplace Surveillance Requires a Closer Look
Monitoring when employees sign in and out of the workplace is one thing. Tracking employee cellphones and using facial recognition software at work is a whole different matter. Using some degree of monitoring technology at work is only fair, as it allows employers to set firmer regulations around workplace policies; however, the overuse of tech can often be frustrating for employees.
Workplace surveillance policies often suggest a lack of trust in the employees’ capabilities and values, which gives rise to further frustrations among them. These technological resources are not perfect either, and eliminating any room for flexibility in their use creates more conflicts than necessary. The feeling of being watched and assessed constantly can be overwhelming for the majority of workers, and this offers a clear reason for their resistance to such tech.
There is no concrete data on the exact nature of AT&T’s attendance system issues and which parts of the presence reporting structure are being changed or retained. What we do know however, is that excessive workplace surveillance can be disruptive in any workforce and cause more harm than good.
While these tools can provide some insight and perspective on the workers, a skewed representation can be particularly harmful. Employee monitoring is not a bad idea by design, but the degree of surveillance and the form of supervision can determine just how successfully the system is applied.
What do you think about the AT&T attendance tracking system and the decision to dial it down? Share your thoughts with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.