More than 8 out of 10 companies admitted having actively spied on their employees in the United Kingdom. However, more than half of British workers said they would be ready to leave their jobs if they were subject to workplace surveillance.
These are the tensions that increase in the British workspace revealed by the latest research carried out by ExpressVPN, one of the best VPN suppliers on the market.
“These results highlight an urgent need for greater transparency and confidence in the workplace,” said Lauren Hendry Parsons, defender of privacy at ExpressVPN.
Although we are all used to physical surveillance in the workplace – think of all security cameras or your personal badge – remote work is not as visible. However, as remote work becomes more widespread, the bosses find new ways to monitor their employees.
Known as Bossware (Portmanteau de Boss and Spyware), it refers to software on workers’ devices to monitor their activities. This may include the websites they visit, the applications they use, strikes and even screen surveillance to assess performance and productivity levels.
The team of confidentiality experts interviewed 1,000 employees and 1,000 employers across the country to discover their attitudes towards this upward trend, revealing a clear gap between the British bosses and the employees.
As mentioned earlier, 85% of UK employers admitted to having used a certain form of online surveillance. Not only that, almost three -quarters of the British bosses (72%) said they were more comfortable with work in person because it requires less surveillance.
On the other hand, British workers have expressed concerns about monitoring the workplace, the vast majority (79%) arguing that the government should better regulate the use of BOSS technologies.
Almost half of respondents (42%) believe that surveillance of online communications, such as emails, cats and video calls, is contrary to ethics. However, 45% of employees suspect that they have already been monitored to the workplace.
Quite more, even more British (46%) said that the prospect of their boss hoping for their online activities and communications has an impact on their level of stress and anxiety. Some respondents (17%) would even be willing to make a salary reduction of 25% to avoid being monitored.
According to Parsons, employers must find a balance between activation of productivity and respect for the confidentiality of employees, regardless of their employees.
She said: “Overbidding can lead to a toxic work environment, an increase in stress, a drop in productivity and, ultimately, higher rolling rates. It is essential for organizations to adopt transparent monitoring practices and ethical that favor the well-being of their employees. “
