Microsoft to Spy on Employees

4T writes "Forget about monitoring your computers with spyware, now they're going to monitor the users as well! 'Microsoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker's productivity, physical wellbeing and competence. The Times has seen a patent application filed by the company for a computer system that links workers to their computers via wireless sensors that measure their metabolism. The system would allow managers to monitor employees' performance by measuring their heart rate, body temperature, movement, facial expression and blood pressure. Unions said they fear that employees could be dismissed on the basis of a computer's assessment of their physiological state.'"

Re:Wait a second

[Shakrai]

Everyone instead leaps to, "my manager is going to be putting my heartrate on my review!"

Maybe you should RTFA? They aren't aiming this at sports figures and deep sea divers. To quote:

Technology allowing constant monitoring of workers was previously limited to pilots, firefighters and Nasa astronauts. This is believed to be the first time a company has proposed developing such software for mainstream workplaces.

Another interesting quote:

The system could also "automatically detect frustration or stress in the user" and "offer and provide assistance accordingly".

Great! I can just see it now. Clippy pops up on my screen: "It looks like you are extremely frustrated with your current job? Would you like my assistance in composing your resume?"

Obligatory quote...

[Vexler]

CAPCOM - GOLD
- Uh, Thirteen. This is Houston. Jim, we just had a drop out
on your biomed sensors?

JIM LOVELL
- I'm not wearing my biomed sensors, Houston.

CAPCOM - GOLD
- Okay, Jim. Copy that.

DR. CHUCK (FLIGHT SURGEON)
- Flight. Now I'm losing all three of them!

GENE KRANTZ (FLIGHT DIRECTOR - WHITE)
- It's just a little medical mutiny, Doc I'm sure the guys
are still with us. Let's cut 'em some slack, okay?

Redmond Swine!

[curmudgeon99]

Another example of the evil empire at work. How can these guys sleep at night? Can you imagine a worse kind of privacy invasion? Bill Gates can give all his money away to charity but he's still going to hell.

The title of this post is incredibly biased

[1a1n]

If this were something invented by Google, it would have a title like "Google saves workers lives". Instead, it gets "Microsoft to spy on employees" which carries connotations of the whole HP deal from a couple of years ago. Titles like this keep /. on the freaky fringe of news organizatons /i

Just Watch European Porn

[Ohio Calvinist]

If you're an American (like I am) and they try to use biometrics, just watch some European porn at work. The porn will raise your BP, breathing and alertness measures, and the nuances of a diffrent langauge dialect will raise any thought metrics above a normal baseline, but not so much that the computer thinks you are confused or strugling tounderstand what you're doing.

On a more serious note, I think this is a bad idea because some people like a co-worker I have get easily `exctied` and panicy over little things, which the system might interpret as incompetence or `vigilence` but is truly neither. On the other hand, when it hits the fan, I'm always pretty level headed, and you don't see me panicing while reading error logs, so it could mark me as `under-performing` or `apathetic` very easily against the departmental baseline.

Re:Wait a second

[Anonymous Coward]

I work for Microsoft ( in Europe ), good luck implementing this :)

We cannot agree on the colour of shit never mind getting something like this to work :)

Most of the time our employees are STUDENTS and our employee churn is so fast that we have a revolving door.

MSFT's employee ID's are near half a million, they are UNIQUE per employee in their entire LIFETIME. THat is how many employee's they have been through in the past 5 years (back then it was in the low hundred thousands).

Re:No one offers assistance like microsoft

[locust]

Did you even read the article? Line One: Microsoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker's productivity, physical wellbeing and competence.. Which part of that "isn't intended for use in a work environment"?

You say:
"Everyone here trying to apply it to a regular 9 to 5 job setting is obviously going to get the wrong idea."

But then the article goes on (paragraph 3):
Technology allowing constant monitoring of workers was previously limited to pilots, firefighters and Nasa astronauts. This is believed to be the first time a company has proposed developing such software for mainstream workplaces.

we are getting just the right idea... of what kind of a hellish place this kind of system would produce.

Why Not? Federal Law.

[Anonymous Coward]

"...why not my heart rate?"

HIPAA establishes regulations for the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) -- anything health related (health records, payment histories) that is linked to a specific employee.

Federal law states employers cannot do anything regarding your health information without your consent.

The Americans with Disabilities Act specifies:

        * Employers may not ask job applicants about medical information or require a physical examination prior to offering employment.After employment is offered, an employer can only ask for a medical examination if it is required of all employees holding similar jobs.
        * If you are turned down for work based on the results of a medical examination, the employer must prove that it is physically impossible for you to do the work required.

Re:Wait a second

[kevinkitching]

Drug tests are an indirect measure of productivity, using the assumption that "drugs == bad worker". I disagree with that logic, and think that drug tests should only be administered if the worker's performance is clearly impacted. If there's no performance impact, then what the hell does the company care what I do outside work? (I know that's not the attitude many companies have, but it's the attitude I have.)

In most cases, drug testing is done at the behest of the Company's worker's comp. insurance carrier - and has nothing to do with performance, productivity, or whether or not the drug is illegal. It's done because study after study after study conducted by everone but my Great Aunt Matilda shows that employees who use drugs are more likely to have an accident at work - and are also more likely to steal or embezel.

Drug testing == lower workers comp. premiums and lower general liability premiums.

Think about it - say you're in charge of hiring at The Rainy Kingdom. Every year, you hire x employees - each of whom you send for a whiz quiz at a rough cost of $75.00 ea. (This is the last number I can remember hearing for a standard screen done by a lab, and really be considered SWAG - the super kung-fu screen that picks up things like vicodan or codine costs, well, way more.)

x * $75.00 = lots of dough for someone who does alot of hiring. The data on whether casual drug use - smoking a little hippie lettuce on the weekends say - has any effect on productivity out side of accidents is, at best, non-conclusive.

So the question you want to ask is would Bill's Minions be spending that kind of cash without a real, tangible benefit?