'Now is the time for employers to be open about what they track and why': Employees say more bosses are using tracking software and want it to be publicly declared

Date:
Tue, 03 Nov 2026 11:20:00 +0000

Description:
Companies are monitoring workers' meeting attendance and even mouse/keyboard activity, but it's not a true picture of how they're working.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Owl Labs argues that tracking workers' activities doesn't show how they're working 82% of workers believe employees should have to disclose the use of monitoring tools The biggest opportunity to improve productivity comes from upgrading hybrid meeting tech New research has claimed almost three in five (59%) UK workers say their company is using monitoring software to track their activity both across
basic attendance but also computer activity like mouse movements, keyboard usage and meeting participation.

And a further four in five (82%) believe that employers should have to disclose their use of monitoring software something that's not currently required by law. But despite a rise in workplace monitoring software, likely driven by a surge in post-pandemic hybrid working, the report from Owl Labs argues that tracking doesn't actually provide any meaningful insight into
work at all. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Is your employer tracking how and when you work? According to the data, the most commonly monitored activities are login/logout times (32%), number of
meetings attended (22%), screen and mouse movement (17%) and keyboard usage (15%) however, workers are already finding workaround to falsely appease tracking metrics.

For example, more than a quarter (28%) of UK workers admit so-called phantom meeting attendance, where they mark a meeting as 'attended' or even attend it without paying attention, and then catch up later via notes and summaries. It's something that managers (33%) are more likely to do than non-managers (15%), the report found. You may like Almost all workers want their employers to legally have to disclose AI monitoring UK government could force bosses to consult employees before rolling out worker surveillance tools Workplace tech issues are increasing making us more stressed outside of work

The study also pointed to an increase in AI avatar interest, with 50% of managers and 21% of non-managers considering using an avatar to attend meetings on their behalf further making meeting attendance metrics less important. Hybrid work's impact on workplace tracking Owl Labs also revealed some losses in efficiency as a result of hybrid working, but ironically, having workers placed across multiple locations isn't the issue. It's the
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Around three in four (73%) UK workers reported losing time because of technical difficulties during hybrid meetings, with audio problems generally the most significant. Teams spend on average six minutes to get a hybrid meeting started.

The report implies that spending money on better AV tech to support hybrid meetings may create a better outcome than simply deploying software to see who's attending those (suboptimal) meetings. What does tracking software mean for workers? Owl Labs CEO Frank Weishaupt urges companies to be more transparent about what they're tracking with their workers, helping improve trust between workers and higher up.

"With the Government reviewing how workplace monitoring should be regulated, now is the time for employers to be open about what they track and why," Weishaupt added. "Trust and reliable technology are what keep people productive, and what keep them in the business." Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/now-is-the-time-for-employers-to-be-open-about-w hat-they-track-and-why-employees-say-more-bosses-are-using-tracking-software-a nd-want-it-to-be-publicly-declared


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