During this crisis, there has been a strong uptick in bosses requesting spy software to be installed on remote employee computers. The spy software can track how many emails a user sends and see how long they are in front of the computer.
I do not agree with the use of spy software to keep track of remote workers. I understand that managers are used to having their employees close at hand. Managers think that these workers will take advantage of their new freedoms. Just don’t do it. It is a massive violation of trust between a worker and their employer. No amount of spy software is going to get your employees to produce for your company.
Trust
If you cannot trust your employees enough to let them do their job, then maybe you shouldn’t have hired them. If you can’t trust them, fire them. Harsh? Yes, but it’s true. What is the benefit of working with someone you can’t trust? It’s a huge waste of your time if you are always wondering if they are getting the job done.
You should judge whether your employee is doing their job by looking at their productivity level. If their productivity level is low, don’t install software to peek into their day to day activities. No, you need to go talk to them. Crazy concept, but yes talk to them to find out what is going on. Something may be going on with their lives that’s driving down their productivity. At that point, you can work with them to figure out how you can help. That’s just good leadership. Let me just add too that trust is a two-way street. You need to allow your workers to trust you and know that you are not micromanaging them.
Making a Choice
If you find through talking to them that they just are unproductive, slow, and inefficient you need to ask yourself a question. Has the employee been given the best tools for the job? Maybe you haven’t provided the best tools for the job. If you have and they are just unable to do the job then maybe it’s time to part ways. With the right tools maybe they could be more productive.
I think we went off on a bit of a tangent because this post is not about productivity tools. I do want you to think about that before you would ever lose trust in an employee or even worse choose to install spyware on their remote working computer.
Photo by Tobias Tullius
