ICO’s ‘Big Brother’ in the workplace

Actual Experience agrees with the Information Commissioner’s Office that any form of employee monitoring should be “necessary, proportionate and respect the rights and freedoms of workers”. Unfortunately, striking the balance between ‘spying’ on employees and empowering them to work remotely responsibly is a blurred line and remains hampered by the divide between the expectations of employees and employer commitment.

On the one hand, the new hybrid working model should be inspiring businesses to create an engaging digital experience and culture that increases output, talent retention and morale instead of channelling ‘Big Brother’.

Yet, on the other, they are undervaluing the importance of developing a digital environment that supports the workforce’s needs and desires.

Equally, employees want a hybrid experience, but they don’t want to feel untrusted working from home. They may object to having a new, monitored digital environment but will become disenfranchised if their home working infrastructure doesn’t allow them to perform to the best of their capacity.

But, by partnering with organisations that can provide analysis and identify areas of improvement across employees, businesses can gain the clarity and confidence needed to build sustainable ecosystems within their organisations – delivering both a great employee experience and increasing the efficiency of the digital workplace – without stepping over the line of an individual’s privacy rights.