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Bossware rises as employers keep closer tabs on remote staff (www.theregister.com)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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The COVID-19 lockdown meant a surge in remote work, and the trend toward remote and hybrid workplaces has persisted long after the pandemic receded. That has changed the nature of workplace management as well. Bosses can't check for butts in seats or look over their employees' shoulders in the office to make sure they're working instead of having a LAN party. So they've turned to software tools to fill the gap.

So-called “bossware” lets managers keep a close eye on employees' activity, tracking everything from knowledge workers’ website visits to the gait and facial expressions of those involved in more physical activities.

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[–] 12 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Yeah, what you described is how it should be.

Each person:

  1. What I did yesterday.
  2. What I'm working on today.
  3. Briefly describe obstacles or assistance I need.

That could be as little as 45 seconds per person if done properly.

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  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago* (4 children)

    We stick to that format with minor variations:

    1. Recap of the morning's school run and dog walks
    2. Update on everyone's pets' health
    3. Update on peoples' kids' behaviour
    4. Update on team members' health and their families
    5. Miscellaneous gripes
    6. All the sports: what happened, what people think will happen, and details of particular players
    7. Sports statistics in depth
    8. Mutual accusations of breaking things
    9. Defence against said accusations
    10. Gripes about boss's emails
    11. Long, in-depth accounts from two team members of their last day's work, minute by minute, with digressions into big-picture frustrations and grumbles about management, customers, etc.
    12. Recounting of the history of these issues over the last 15 years or so.
    13. Each person tells us that they're working on the thing the kanban board says they're working on, and that it will take them as long as it says on the board.
    14. Holiday plans or accounts of past holidays
    15. Goodbye
    16. One guy jumps in with a 15-minute anecdote about taking his dog to the vet
    17. Goodbye
    18. Any further anecdotes about things people's dogs ate, etc.
    19. Goodbye.

    Its supposed to take 10-15 minutes but it takes up to an hour, sometimes more. I usually tune in late and sometimes pretend I lost my internet connection halfway through.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    I used to get mad at these but it unironically sounds like a nice open culture

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago*

    It pays badly and it can be disorganized, but no one I work with is that bad of a person, what we do is more useful to real people than a lot of tech companies and there's no nasty politics to speak of. So yes, it has its upsides.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    Honestly even that is for beginner teams, frankly. If there's good shared understanding, clear work, and good interaction regularly within the team (ie you're actually working together towards a goal), just hurry up and tell everyone what you need, and get out. Fight the sludge.

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