4 ms·

They used tracking software on employee's computers. That alone was enough for me to close the link without reading further. My company uses Microsoft's inane v

They used tracking software on employee's computers. That alone was enough for me to close the link without reading further. My company uses Microsoft's inane version of this, and the only real thing it measures is the amount of money going into Microsoft's account.

Guest42 5y ago
One of the measures/trackers is the various spreadsheets that get opened. This certainly hurts the employees that have automated those aspects of their jobs. One of my initial roles had me inherit 15 different spreadsheet reports and over time I pushed all the report logic upstream so that I never had to open them. This made me much more productive whereas the tracking would show me as contributing very little.
themanmaran 5y ago
"the analytics software takes into account whether an employee actually engages in a relevant task (which counts as work time) or merely procrastinates at their desk (not counted), by monitoring which software tools the employee uses" That's genuinely awful. I wonder to what extent employees are aware of the analytics, and how many people just set up macros look busy.
- ultrastable 5y ago
  I agree it's awful, not to mention the fact that employees weren't informed of the Microsoft tracking software being used in the firstplace, but what's funny is that according to their analytics having yr IDE open & wiggling the mouse cursor counts as "engaged in a relevant task". whereas going on Twitter to get answers about a programming question would be counted as unproductive social media use
- avgDev 5y ago
  These tools are definitely awful. Last week I spent hours reading a programming book because I was unsure about certain part of my code and needed a refresher. Also, a lot times I just need to think without typing anything. There are days where I only type few lines of code but getting the knowledge to write it takes hours of looking at the business and making sure there is no ill effects somewhere. I still deliver and my boss doesn't need to hold my hand.
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  Keep in mind the study was made using : "personnel and analytics data from over 10,000 skilled professionals at a large Asian IT services company" In this industry we all know what this really means. Some of us have dealt with these "skilled professionals". I don't think spending more time in their IDE is going to make them any more productive than they already are...
  - prionassembly 5y ago
    This is... impressively racist.
- ska 5y ago
  These sort of analytics are endemic in some industries; most people will have seen some generic notification, e.g. "system usage may be monitored on company equipment" but have no idea this means "your laptop is logging everything you do, all the time".
  - nijave 5y ago
    >your laptop is logging everything you do, all the time It seems like a lot of people don't understand that's the default behavior of lots of computer systems (the standard logs in Windows, Linux, macOS desktop operating systems will provide a decent indication of how the computer is being used regardless of installing any special tracking software). The same thing happens without technology--managers still lurk around watching employees unless there's a high level of trust between the employer and employee (which seems to be rare) The nuance is how it's used.
bigmattystyles 5y ago
Is that the thing called Insight that showed up in my corporate outlook?

Guest42 5y ago

One of the measures/trackers is the various spreadsheets that get opened. This certainly hurts the employees that have automated those aspects of their jobs. One of my initial roles had me inherit 15 different spreadsheet reports and over time I pushed all the report logic upstream so that I never had to open them. This made me much more productive whereas the tracking would show me as contributing very little.

themanmaran 5y ago

"the analytics software takes into account whether an employee actually engages in a relevant task (which counts as work time) or merely procrastinates at their desk (not counted), by monitoring which software tools the employee uses" That's genuinely awful. I wonder to what extent employees are aware of the analytics, and how many people just set up macros look busy.

ultrastable 5y ago
I agree it's awful, not to mention the fact that employees weren't informed of the Microsoft tracking software being used in the firstplace, but what's funny is that according to their analytics having yr IDE open & wiggling the mouse cursor counts as "engaged in a relevant task". whereas going on Twitter to get answers about a programming question would be counted as unproductive social media use
avgDev 5y ago
These tools are definitely awful. Last week I spent hours reading a programming book because I was unsure about certain part of my code and needed a refresher. Also, a lot times I just need to think without typing anything. There are days where I only type few lines of code but getting the knowledge to write it takes hours of looking at the business and making sure there is no ill effects somewhere. I still deliver and my boss doesn't need to hold my hand.
908B64B197 5y ago
Keep in mind the study was made using : "personnel and analytics data from over 10,000 skilled professionals at a large Asian IT services company" In this industry we all know what this really means. Some of us have dealt with these "skilled professionals". I don't think spending more time in their IDE is going to make them any more productive than they already are...
- prionassembly 5y ago
  This is... impressively racist.
ska 5y ago
These sort of analytics are endemic in some industries; most people will have seen some generic notification, e.g. "system usage may be monitored on company equipment" but have no idea this means "your laptop is logging everything you do, all the time".
- nijave 5y ago
  >your laptop is logging everything you do, all the time It seems like a lot of people don't understand that's the default behavior of lots of computer systems (the standard logs in Windows, Linux, macOS desktop operating systems will provide a decent indication of how the computer is being used regardless of installing any special tracking software). The same thing happens without technology--managers still lurk around watching employees unless there's a high level of trust between the employer and employee (which seems to be rare) The nuance is how it's used.

bigmattystyles 5y ago

Is that the thing called Insight that showed up in my corporate outlook?