How remote employee monitoring software is creeping in to our lives and creeping us out.

Bossware is computer monitoring software that spies on employees — often without their consent — to measure productivity and performance. Due in large part to the massive shift to remote work accelerated by the pandemic, these new computer monitoring applications are becoming very sophisticated and are quickly penetrating American and European businesses.

A survey of 1250 employers by digital.com found that 60% use employee monitoring software and that 10 of those company had fired employees based on their monitoring of non-compliant behavior.

This software tracks keystrokes, snaps screenshots, measures mouse movements, and takes photos and videos using the built in camera without the worker knowing. The latest iteration of software now incorporates artificial intelligence and complex algorithms to analyze the data and create implications.

Many of these monitoring tools create a daily productivity score for each employee and send directly to their manager. This is, as you can imagine, having a demoralizing impact on employees. One software solution, RemoteDesk, even dubbed its own technology as a tool for “work-from-home obedience.”

Where does employee monitoring go next? One provider, Prodoscore, plans to launch a “happiness and wellness” score by scouring texts, messages, chats for leading indicators of employees feelings with the intent of intervening before morale declines have a negative impact on the business.

So, why are we here? How did business reach this point of spying on employees to create an environment described as “soul crushing?” Perhaps, in their attempt to quickly adapt to the massive surge in remote work driven by the pandemic, businesses over reacted with a digital solution to their worst fears. When instead, more human connection and oversight would have worked just fine.

CEOs are turning up the heat in their demands for a return to the office. Increased collaboration and company culture are cited as the biggest reasons. As well as mentorship and a “return” to normal. Major brands are essentially putting their collective feet down for at least 3 days per week in the office. Starbucks, Apple, Disney, Goldman Sachs, Google and Twitter just to name a few.

I guess if you can’t track ‘em remotely — get ‘em back in the office.