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What It’s About: Tamir Kalika at The New York Times reported: “Working for Allina Health, The Rev. Margo Richardson as Hospice chaplain, along with her colleagues, had to project how many ‘productivity points’ they would accumulate during the day’s work. Of course death defied planning… Two years ago, her employer started requiring chaplains to accrue more of what it called ‘productivity points.’ A visit to the dying: As little as one point. Participating in a funeral: One and three-quarters points. A phone call to grieving relatives: One-quarter point…” Doesn’t this kind of system just strike you as fundamentally wrong?

The above example is a somewhat nutty productivity tool. However, there has been an explosion of software applications that are made for tracking our productivity. They often include the use of random screenshots, capturing so-called idle time not using the keyboard, and more. Some link activity to pay. Not surprisingly, many of these employee tracking products are highly invasive and anxiety inducing.

So What?: I get that employers want to track and increase productivity. And frankly some employees underperform through side hustles and other boondoggling. However, I think “Big Brother” systems ultimately fail because of massive mistrust. Neither employers or employees win in an environment of cat and mouse tactics, trying to catch or deceive. That contributes to a toxic work culture.

Now What?: Effective leaders and workers understand that no results eventually equals no job. So, leaders have essentially two choices.1: Set clear expectations and create conditions for people to thrive. 2: Use the monitoring software to weed out low performers. Which employer do you want to work for? Perhaps there is room for both choices? I’m not convinced.

Could you imagine a drone following a farmer around to watch their every move? That would be hilarious. Most farmers I know would literally shoot that drone out of the air. They know very literally that nothing grows to harvest without them being productive, and they also are aware you can’t be on a tractor 100 percent of the time. We need workers to act more like farmers, and leaders to provide nutrients employees need to maximize the yield. Wiggling the mouse to fool the tracking software or catching a person “idle” doesn’t help anyone.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: Farmers are also highly regarded as a shining beacon of hard work, and the antithesis of lazy. Now hmm, why would a leader of knowledge workers be attracted to a software program that, yes, could risk invasiveness, yet also do the work for them? The common phrase “work smarter, not harder” is cute and all, but c’mon, be a leader that wants to put in the time and effort. Right? Be the employer that cultivates trust with employees. Installing intrusive software isn’t an example of leaders being smart, it’s the technology that is intelligent. By doing so, couldn’t one argue that the leader is cutting more corners than any potential boondoggling employee? The entire idea is ugly, but shhhh and ignore that, because it makes our responsibilities easier. Now, we love, appreciate and use the convenience of many tools, however that doesn’t mean they’re all good. In some cases, choosing easy things is a great way for life to become involuntarily harder and more challenging in the long run.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

We’re Watching You!

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