Time Cards Out. Hand Geometry In. Hello 1984!
Just as George Orwell predicted in his negative utopian classic '1984,' Big Brother has arrived! Not just overnight, but slowly, ever so slowly, the new corporate mindset, with its' over-obsession on worker accountability, has slithered into the workplace. Of course, and as we all know, HR, aka the Thought Police, has become not just a separate profession, but really one of the most prolific and powerful, yet stunningly unproductive, industries known to the modern American workplace.
In fact, it's these corporate cops, and their big business bosses, that we have to thank for the hypocrisy of political correctness, the ever-increasing number of employee regulations that we're subjected to, and the like. It's damned ironic, if you think about it, that our employers, while perenially whining about the bottom line, can still have the gall to sink millions-yeah, milliions!-into every type of techno-crap for really only one reason, and that's to better monitor the workforce. And all under the guise of technology or, worse yet, 'going green.' So rather than 2008, or even 1984, the current attitude of squeezing employees for all their worth is more akin to the sweatshops, assembly lines and factories of, say, 1884.
Recently, my organization decided, as they so eloquently put it, to bring the company's time-keeping system into the modern age. So, without any real consultation with our unions, or even senior staff for that matter, they have mandated that sign-in sheets and time cards be replaced with computerized hand geometry machines. The idea here is to have each employee, irrespective of rank or level, sign in (and out) on a daily basis by placing their pre-registered right hand in a special, computerized machine that recognizes individual hands' geometry. They also made it real simple-no hand imprint, no pay check.
There have been mandatory training classes, meetings and seminars on the process, and the issuance of colorful, almost child-like brochures and laminated handouts for everyone to read. Hey, we even had to take online quizzes to prove that we understand how the new system works. And these faux modern hand reader machines have been popping up on office walls, like so many toadstools in a damp cellar. Except that these are, of course, always under CCTV camera surveillance.
All right, you may say, what's so terrible about it, anyway?
What is so dangerous about this system is that it is nothing more than management creating a better mouse trap, so as to insure that they get their full day's worth, and then some, out of us. Not only does this reflect a total lack of trust in the staff, but it also creates a rigid environment that stifles creativity and flexibility. Oh, there's a line at the new hand reader, and now you're considered late? Too bad. Your boss stopped by to chat about an important project before you imprint in? Oops,late again. Oh, and if you think that this can be over-ridden by senior staff, it can be. Just don't let it happen too often, 'cause then an exception report will be generated. And that ain't good.
Imagine if they took just some of those bucks away from techno monitoring, and gave out long-overdue raises, bonuses and promotions instead? Or improved the size and quality of our workspaces? Or provided real incentives? Though none of this good stuff is likely to happen any time soon, we still need to be alert to what IS possible, and not simply accept management's decree that, a la Big Brother, 'ignorance is strength.'
If your place of work is undergoing any kind of similar transition, please let us at Jobacle know. Misery does indeed love company!
Victor Kipling
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Reader Comments (11)
Please stop your crying! To hear staff whine about being watched induces little empathy from those of us who are proud of how hard they work. So, you don't like Big Brother watching you. Why? Are you afraid of the inefficiencies he may find? Are you afraid he might see you chatting on an instant message service?
Work is for working, Victor. Imagine, as most corporate CEOs do, the prospect of every employee working every hour of every day! We, as a nation, could seriously compete with the Asians that work for $1 a day! (This may serve, ultimately, as job protection.) Oh, and we make 24 to 25 times what they do.
Arguing for such a populist topic as big brother is easy, especially when speaking to the employees that are forced to work harder as a consequence. I have no empathy for this topic. Work each day like it could be your last. In today's economy, managers are looking to chop the fat.
http://tinyurl.com/6m57k7
You are wrong-o!
If the price of advancement is excessive monitoring and snooping, then you can bet that morale will go promptly down the crapper. And that is way too high a price to pay.
Your term "optimizing efficiency" sounds like the jargon a brand new Second Lieutenant would use. But Generals are savvy-and cynical-enough to know way better. Take a lesson.
In case you hadn't noticed, the issue is not about whining or pandering to the populist base, but about principle. Be advised that most of us do indeed bust our proverbial asses, either routinely or as needed. And we don't do it because some plutocrat and his lackies are standing over us. No, Matt, it's called having a work ethic.
Frankly, I also don't give a damn about the greedy obsessions of corporate CEOs. And neither should you, 'cause they'll sell you out just as quickly as they would me.
I'll make no argument against the "less-than-virtuous" corporate CEO. I've worked in several companies whose CEO make more in yearly bonuses than I'll ever see in a lifetime, especially those willing to cut jobs. Yet, I believe in accountability, although I think it may be a stretch to compare today with 1884.
Sweatshops! Really? If you are trying to make an argument based on principle, at least consider a legitimate analogy. For example, the Hawthorne Studies legitimately demonstrated that employee productivity actually increases when they are observed, thus the ever larger presence of Big Brother.
And, what is the problem with assigning 10 hours of work to an 8 hour day? If, as you say, there is such a thing as a work ethic, then we as employees should rise to the "challenge", routinely.
I happen to be a big fan of George Orwell, especially Animal Farm. I believe this short book to be more telling of the principle Orwell was trying to make in "1984", that of Soviet-styled totalitarianism. Now there was a system of Oligarchs and lackeys. That may be a more appropriate topic for a "principled" argument around the company's water cooler.
Do you really want to go down the Gulick and Urwick time and motion study road? Or that employees should 'rise to the challenge of compressing 10 hours of work into an 8 hour day?
Accountability is one thing, exploitation another. And I say this as someone who does indeed do both.
It is not big brother and it does not track where we are and what we are doing. Once we clock in, we can spend an hour at the coffee machine or outside smoking and the biometric hand reader will not track us.
I do not think we should mix what the CEO is making, who is getting bonus and who is not, and why I am not making as much as the guy next to me. All this has nothing to do with either a conventional time clock or a biometric time clock.
Let's face it, who is the boss and who makes the decisions and who pays us? The guy that pays our salaries has the right to determine how he wants us to work and what he wants us to do each day. If we do not like it, we can either quit or start our own company and become bosses and let's see if you would want to pay your workers for coming in late, leaving early, and wasting time at the fax or coffee machine. The guy that pays our salaries has the right to ask for any honest days work for an honest salary. If you and I do not like the salary or the boss, then we can go somewhere else. If we cannot quit then we better shut up or find ourselves out of a job.