Australian remote workers are against the idea of remote monitoring and ‘tattle ware’ technology.
According to the Unisys Security Index, the majority of Australian employees surveyed are against company monitoring protocols, even if they are for security purposes.
According to the report, 85% of employees don’t want to share their passwords or allow organisation access to their microphones.
81% rejected the idea of keyboard activity level monitoring while two-thirds said they were not comfortable with login/logout monitoring.
Three-quarters are against mandates to turn on video for meetings. Despite this kind of a response, around half of surveyed participants in Australia admitted to installing unauthorised software on their devices, knowing that this could compromise their devices.
“Here we hit a paradox: working from home has empowered employees, potentially to make decisions that could be dangerous to the business. Yet, these same employees resist the kind of continuous monitoring that would help detect and potentially thwart attacks before they could cause significant damage.” Unisys’ Report
Unisys rated the security concerns of Australians at 159 out of 300, the average of 11 countries reported by Unisys.
“While for many people working from home offers benefits of less commuting time and work-life balance, for others it is an imposition necessitated by the COVID-19 response. Being mandated to work from home is not the same as volunteering for it. A two-way discussion is critical to successful organisational change management. And just because the technology allows you to do something doesn’t mean it is always appropriate.”
Leon Sayers, director of advisory at Unisys in Asia Pacific
According to Sayers, managers need to take a different approach for remote monitoring of performance/productivity.
“For example, using technology to monitor how quickly call centre staff working from home answer a call and resolve a customer’s problem is a key metric of the role and service delivered to the customer.”
Leon Sayers, director of advisory at Unisys in Asia Pacific
With a rise in hiring of remote workers across the globe, the remote working model has its own benefits and challenges. Finding a middle ground between employees and employers with opposing opinions can help create a more secure working environment.
Subscribe to Think Remote for the latest news, tips and stories from the remote work world.
