Since early 2020, more employees are working from home than ever before. While increases to the remote workforce were driven primarily by pandemic-related mitigation measures, many organizations have seen a significant number of employees choose to remain working from home even after businesses and organization have embraced a return to the in-person work model. The necessity to work remotely for some time allowed both employers and employees to recognize the benefits and challenges of a remote workforce. To be successful in this new paradigm, employers search for ways to stay connected with employees to ensure professional growth and productivity. Similarly, employees strive to achieve a work-life balance and safeguard personal privacy while working from home. These oft-competing goals require a delicate balance and careful consideration of the impact of monitoring employee performance and productivity while maintaining organizational trust and protecting employee privacy.

How Employees Are Monitored

Improvements in technology have advanced a broad range of methods to monitor employees' whereabouts and activities. Reliance on technology in our personal and professional lives makes monitoring activity relatively easy. There is an abundance of software applications and monitoring tools available to track employee activity in a variety of ways. Some common methods employers use to track employee activity include:

• Cellular phones/telephone tapping: Employer-issued cellular phones may be equipped with tracking applications or supervision settings that enable employers to access device activity and location. In addition to ascertaining the location of the device, access may include email, text messages, contacts, photos and location settings. These applications may also restrict access to certain functions, downloads or sites that may be prohibited by company policy.
• Video/webcam surveillance: Employer-issued laptops, tablets, or other workstation devices may be equipped with webcams that can be activated and deactivated remotely by employers to monitor employee activity.
• Computer monitoring: Other forms of computer monitoring include keystroke monitoring, application use, internet and social media activity, accessing stored files, and email monitoring. 
• GPS/location tracking: Employers may track activity of company owned vehicles through GPS or other location or vehicle monitoring platforms. 

Why Employers Monitor Employees

The primary reason for monitoring employees is productivity. Without the direct supervision that exists in the traditional work environment, employers need a mechanism to evaluate how employees are spending their time. Remote monitoring can provide an employer with a snapshot of employee activity to ensure time is spent efficiently.