Your Boss Is Watching You
Assisted by AI, companies have more options than ever to track employees, minute by minute, keystroke by keystroke. Does this have the desired effect? The post Your Boss Is Watching You appeared first on Nautilus .
In recent years, companies have increasingly employed artificial intelligence and advanced technologies to monitor their employees, tracking everything from keystrokes and phone calls to physical location and even tone of voice. While some executives believe that close surveillance can lead to improved performance, efficiency, and safety, research suggests this is not the case.
A study published in the 2025 Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior found little evidence that electronic monitoring actually enhances performance. Cornelius König, a psychology researcher at Saarland University in Germany, is skeptical of the benefits of monitoring. He notes that while leaders might think monitoring can identify top performers or improve safety, the reality is that such benefits are elusive.
Despite this lack of evidence, the global market for employee-monitoring technology is projected to surpass $4 billion by 2026, driven largely by major companies in North America. High-profile companies such as Amazon, United Parcel Service, and UnitedHealth Group have been known to track individual worker productivity metrics, often in real time. Even US postal workers are subject to close scrutiny, with GPS tracking and continuous monitoring of every step and stop they make while delivering mail.
Companies can easily implement monitoring technologies, such as adding a monitoring app to their workplace, which can be as simple as downloading a streaming service like Spotify. However, the human response to constant surveillance tends to be a normalization of behavior, with workers adapting to the new reality. This can lead to unintended consequences, such as increased stress, reduced autonomy, and lower job satisfaction.
In fact, a 2024 study of over 3,500 workers in Canada found that those who perceived they were being surveilled reported feeling more pressure and stress and less autonomy and privacy at work.
While companies continue to explore new metrics to evaluate their workforce, the lack of clear evidence supporting the effectiveness of monitoring raises questions about its continued use.
Written by urgent.news from Nautilus's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
