6 ms·

Not arguing against your points but I'm wondering if this is more a US related issue? I never heard this being a thing here in the EU but maybe it's just me bei

Not arguing against your points but I'm wondering if this is more a US related issue? I never heard this being a thing here in the EU but maybe it's just me being unaware of all the various situations. I don't know anyone who works from home (whether in tech and in other sectors) that has to deal with all that nonsense.

fnordian_slip 2y ago
Germany reporting in, couldn't see that becoming a thing here. I have about 99% wfh currently, and if my employer would try to implement something like that, the union would probably not even have time to get involved because the works council ("Betriebsrat", not sure if that's a good translation) would swat it down instantly. It sounds insane, but believable for the US (but that might be my bias showing, I've always heard bad things about worker's rights in the US).
- manuelmoreale 2y ago
  Yeah I’m in Italy and I don’t know anyone who’s dealing with all that nonsense that’s why I was wondering if this is a US thing.
- Zak 2y ago
  The fact that you have a Betriebsrat along with strong unions is why that sort of thing doesn't happen. Many European countries have works councils with a similar union-adjacent role. I'm not aware of an equivalent in the USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_council
pjc50 2y ago
GDPR prevents most of this. There are rules about email snooping, for example: https://www.edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/reference-library/private-use-electronic-communications-workplace_en https://www.edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/r... (presumably someone will be along to say that this is the EU destroying businesses by not allowing them 100% power over the lives of their employees)
wccrawford 2y ago
I had never heard of this in the US until now, either. But I also don't work in a factory or warehouse, and don't know anyone who does.
nicoburns 2y ago
I have a friend in the UK (and this was a few years ago when it was still part of the EU) who worked for a company that had always-on screen monitoring installed on company computers and their boss would randomly remotely view people's screens to check on what they were doing throughout the day. That may not have been legal, but it was certainly happening.
gcr 2y ago
American here, this feels very uniquely “American Capitalist” to me
Repulsion9513 2y ago
The US has significantly less privacy in general than most of the EU. The way the whole freedom thing is implemented tends to skew heavily towards "businesses can do whatever they think makes the most profit".

fnordian_slip 2y ago

Germany reporting in, couldn't see that becoming a thing here. I have about 99% wfh currently, and if my employer would try to implement something like that, the union would probably not even have time to get involved because the works council ("Betriebsrat", not sure if that's a good translation) would swat it down instantly. It sounds insane, but believable for the US (but that might be my bias showing, I've always heard bad things about worker's rights in the US).

manuelmoreale 2y ago
Yeah I’m in Italy and I don’t know anyone who’s dealing with all that nonsense that’s why I was wondering if this is a US thing.
Zak 2y ago
The fact that you have a Betriebsrat along with strong unions is why that sort of thing doesn't happen. Many European countries have works councils with a similar union-adjacent role. I'm not aware of an equivalent in the USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_council

pjc50 2y ago

GDPR prevents most of this. There are rules about email snooping, for example: https://www.edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/reference-library/private-use-electronic-communications-workplace_en https://www.edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/r... (presumably someone will be along to say that this is the EU destroying businesses by not allowing them 100% power over the lives of their employees)

wccrawford 2y ago

I had never heard of this in the US until now, either. But I also don't work in a factory or warehouse, and don't know anyone who does.

nicoburns 2y ago

I have a friend in the UK (and this was a few years ago when it was still part of the EU) who worked for a company that had always-on screen monitoring installed on company computers and their boss would randomly remotely view people's screens to check on what they were doing throughout the day. That may not have been legal, but it was certainly happening.

gcr 2y ago

American here, this feels very uniquely “American Capitalist” to me

Repulsion9513 2y ago

The US has significantly less privacy in general than most of the EU. The way the whole freedom thing is implemented tends to skew heavily towards "businesses can do whatever they think makes the most profit".