Bosses are using AI to spy on employees' productivity—does it work?

Bosses are using AI to spy on employees' productivity—does it work?

Assisted by AI, companies have more options than ever to track employees, minute by minute, keystroke by keystroke. Does this have the desired effect?

Ready for a Whopper with a side of Orwell? Earlier this year, Burger King announced the rollout of Patty , an AI chatbot imbedded in headsets that tracks if cashiers neglect to say please and thank you and chimes in when a soda fountain is running low.

Advances in AI, cameras, sensors and tracking software have given employers unprecedented power to monitor employees. They now observe the physical location of workers , the length and content of phone calls, keystrokes per minute, and even the tone and pitch of conversations with customers.

Now, as companies search for new ways to watch their workforce, researchers are taking a close look at the consequences of constant surveillance.

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Employee monitoring has become standard practice in multiple industries and workplaces. Drivers delivering packages or pizzas are increasingly being watched by AI-powered surveillance systems . Many employees in Amazon warehouses are continuously tracked through handheld scanners, badge swipes and workstation software.

Technologies that keep tabs on employees hold a strong appeal for corporate leadership, says Cornelius König , a psychology researcher at Saarland University in Germany. Leaders may believe that close surveillance can help identify top performers, increase efficiency or improve safety, he says.