{"id":5849,"date":"2023-04-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?post_type=resources&p=5849"},"modified":"2026-09-16T05:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:13:44","slug":"remote-employee-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employee-privacy\/remote-employee-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Smart things to consider about remote employee monitoring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Helena Oroz<\/strong>, JD, Senior Legal Editor at Brightmine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote work as a viable model seems to depend on one’s world of work view: do people show up as productive, motivated contributors only in the office; or, once on their own turf, do they devolve into nonproductive sham shows?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter suspicion seems to be the overarching reason that “productivity surveillance” is the hot thing on the workplace landscape. Employer surveys (and customer reviews of just about any monitoring tech on the market) bear this out. With monitoring software, the invisible has become visible: employers can ensure that their remote employees remain productive and employees can work where they want. Everyone wins. Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone is monitoring something<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recent surveys<\/a> suggest that the vast majority of remote companies are using some form of employee monitoring. Perhaps this should come as no surprise, considering what has been termed the “productivity paranoia” associated with remote and hybrid work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tools available to monitor remote employees have expanded from old school email and browser monitoring to app utilization tracking, screenshots, facial recognition, keylogging, geolocation, webcam surveillance, collaboration tool monitoring (like Slack and Teams), and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some tools might be used alone or together to produce productivity data, which might include things like email or call quantity, meeting duration, time spent on specific tasks or projects, or idle time. (And if none of those options provide enough data or oversight, brain productivity technology<\/a> might be the wave of the future.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detractors argue that the invasive nature of some of these monitoring methods kills morale and fuels employee distrust. Critics also argue that productivity scoring generates performative-based activity (i.e., fake work) and inaccurate data that doesn’t account for off-device work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some employees, those digital eyeballs may create or increase their general anxiety about work, which seems counterproductive. (The anxiety can be palpable, and you can experience it firsthand through simulated productivity tracking<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Productivity is in the eye of the monitor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some surveys<\/a> suggest that strategic employers are focused on outcomes rather than clicks or screen time, with many using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess the performance of outcomes for which a remote employee is partly responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Traditionally, employees have been measured on ‘how many widgets produced in x time’ \u2014 output focused and what surveillance technology is so spectacular at capturing,” says Laci Loew, Senior Global Analyst, HR Strategy & Insights at HR & Compliance Center. “Yet, today’s high-performing leaders and high-impact organizations are measuring productivity in terms of how valuable the employee’s work is to the business \u2014 outcome focused and something that surveillance technology cannot capture.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic surveillance is kind of having its Wild West moment (although certain advocacy groups are trying to make the case for regulation by the federal government). Outside of a small number of states with specific requirements for employers that monitor their employees, there aren’t a ton of rules out there governing remote employee surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are limitations on employee monitoring<\/a> under state and federal law, and plenty of potential legal ramifications for employers that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n