AIBU to think companies track employees working from home?

[Listeningin]

Recently I've had some odd conversations with colleagues including my manager which seem related to things I've said at home and never mentioned to anyone at work. Some are probably coincidences but it's happened enough that I'm starting to wonder. e.g. related to specific passing comments to my partner that I just wouldn't say to anyone at work as it's unprofessional to discuss other colleagues

Working from home with a company managed laptop there's probably some sort of tracking software installed but it seems like audio might be tracked outside of meetings or when the microphone is on mute. I also installed company mobile software onto my personal mobile to make it easier to arrange childcare around work which also makes me wonder if some things are tracked through there. The company mobile thing says it can track which personal apps you have installed but not the data.

I'm a pretty boring person and sure that companies don't monitor individual conversations, but AIBU to think companies have programs that can automatically track certain words or something - similar to e.g. alexa waking up when a key word is said?

Hilariously there’s an MI5 ad showing as part of this thread!

I have been told this so many times 🙄

I think of it as people who don't know what's available in tech. Or the sort of person who says "Alexa isn't listening unless you say the wake up word".

I'm not even techie, but the recent updates to ChatGPT seemed to shock a lot of MNers.

pp who said about company Outlook - don't run your personal email through that.

Let’s put aside the legalities of it, and the improbability of any company investing in the massive processing power that would be needed to glean anything from it, and the improbability of any company managing to keep it a secret.

With all that put aside, why would they do it? What do you think they would find valuable in your private discussions?

I can categorically confirm that some businesses do track as I worked for one that did. I was in HR and left. They tracked in the office, as there wasn't WFH at the time.

They could access personal mobile phone communications and had listening devices in the office, which perhaps people knew about as the offices were silent, hardly anyone spoke.

It was a highly secretive and paranoid business in a high tech space.

i thought software like Hubstaff and Teramind let you listen at the time, no massive processing power needed?

There's been a lot of this stuff installed in a rush over lockdowns, I'd bet many that many staff weren't made aware of how invasive it is. And there'll be senior mgmt listening "live" without checking or caring about legalities.

This is the era of getting ChatGPT to write full essays.

In my case it was to check that no sensitive information was being leaked or stolen. As I said, highly secretive and paranoid.

I could share some eye opening stories of what they got up to but I'm probably already breaching my NDA by going this far

Salty was it in your handbook, possibly on page 733, that these were around?

Possible: yes. Likely? Depends - what size of organisation do you work for?

Do they have the money and technological capability for this kind of undertaking on a large scale?

Monitoring activity on a laptop isn’t that difficult, listening to and processing potentially thousands of conversations in employee homes would be more challenging and take up more resources.

Also legality may not stop some organisations but it would still be a consideration as the costs, financial and reputational, would be risks they would need to manage.

You can get software to listen and transcribe.

Erm, funnily enough, no

😂

Unless there are already concerns about an employee it's highly unlikely anyone is listening. But turn your laptop off when you are not working and don't run company stuff on your own mobile. Updates are often pushed out overnight, etc and there can be issues if your laptop is on. For security reasons, your employer shouldn't allow work stuff on employees' own equipment.

If you really do think you're being listened to then do a test and see if it comes back to you in some way. You're probably being paranoid and there's no link.

For every story bigging up the capabilities of tech, you have stories like this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65205520

which tell you the levels of incompetence you are dealing with.

Also the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion is a very real thing.

Just turn the laptop right off when you're not using it and stick it in a laptop bag in a cupboard.

But OP believes her boss is picking up on “boring” conversations between her and her partner. Assuming OP doesn’t believe her boss is sitting listening live 24/7 then she must assume there is some recording and monitoring going on. That would require a lot of processing (as well as a lot of data transfer) which is why devices like Alexa/HomePod have wake words - so they only have to transmit and process what is necessary.

Which brings me back to the question of … why? Why would they bother?

OP I worked in tech for over 8 years including selling monitoring technology and software to very large scale organisations.

it is hugely unlikely anyone is listening to your conversations; and furthermore this would be monitored by your IT department, not by your manager if by anyone in your organisation at all. Employee tracking is usually provided to companies at request or as a report (ie graph and numbers) rather than in any audio style recording. Can you imagine the amount of data it would cost your company and storage space to be individually recording each and every employee alongside storing that information? It would literally cost in the hundreds of thousands per month.

‘key stroke’ logging is a thing, if you’re using a company computer (usually rather than a phone) then they can absolutely see what websites you’ve visited and most likely what you post/write email etc, even on your own personal accounts. Again, your IT department would have access to this, not your manager.

I wouldn’t worry so much but in general I do suggest that you purchase your own laptop and use personal phone for all things outside of work.

And to be clear, yes of course companies monitor employees. Mostly for data loss, sometimes for productivity. I think that should be expected when you are working on company provided equipment, and it’s the reason I would never agree to having my personal equipment company managed.

But your laptop is a company device. It being monitored (eg for data loss) is no different to e.g. a publishing company monitoring what its printers are used for.

But what OP describes would be illegal, and also of no benefit.

Just to add, recording and listening devices are usually installed over VOIP phones (phones inside the workplace or connected to the work system via internet) - they are typically used in sales or customer service centred industries and are used for training, feedback and sometimes reporting. Unless you’re in this industry, again, it’s unlikely you’re being recorded. If you WERE it would mean you’re using your specific work phone device or number to make personal calls. It wouldn’t cover your personal mobile phone for example.

No, it may be her boss listens live occasionally, after meetings being the most likely.

Ask yourself - all the politics and shit stirring in workplaces - why does anyone do that? Because they can, because it amuses them.

there's entire genres of voyeuristic film and literature.

People are weird.

also, your knowledge of Alexa etc is out of date. Of course it listens for the wake word and the workers are documented to have listened to conversations.

This seems very unlikely. More likely you've forgotten to mute at some point. Or if it's about your opinion of one of your colleagues ( something you said you would say to your DH but not to work colleagues), maybe they have picked up on your body language or other signals?
As a manager ( in a team with hybrid working), the only monitoring we do of homeworking staff is to be aware of what sort of work they are doing, and whether they respond to emails/ messages.

What sort of thing is making you think she’s heard something?

I’d be tempted to do some testing. Just make something up that you never speak to her about ‘officially’, like a musical instrument that you play or a slightly obscure language you speak.

AG247 "Can you imagine the amount of data it would cost your company and storage space to be individually recording each and every employee alongside storing that information? It would literally cost in the hundreds of thousands per month. "

again, why would you think it's being stored? "Listen live" is more likely.

the intercom in our flats can see and hear every conversation in the common parts.

My company have screen recording, it tracks and records all activity on screen and audio when using a work phone.

The paranoia on this thread is quite hilarious, unless you work in a very official position with high classified information, a you most likely do not work on it at home, b your company would not legally or found any cost benefit to trying to monitor your conversation 24/7 via your laptop. It would simply have you work in the office.

Is it technically possible yes, is it likely no. Confusing keystroke software and site monitoring, reading emails from the exchange server by your tech guys is a million miles away from breaching telecommunications law and covertly recording audio communication in your home.

As others have said the resources need would outstrip the cost benefit for employing you and even from home.

Don't speak to your DH whilst your on teams calls and ensure you have ended your calls first and leave the paranoia to the misinformed tin hat brigade on here.

I doubt very much that is happening.

First of all your manager doesn't have the time and most likely doesn't care about your private conversations.

Secondly, most companies wouldn't risk doing something so highly illegal that it could bankrupt them in a lawsuit. Just to listen to you talking about hanging the laundry in the garden and what's for tea.

If this was happening (which I doubt, unless you work for MI5 or 6) then the data would not be given to all your colleagues- think about it, why would everyone be listening to your (probably mundane) conversations - the entire department? Yet you are not listening to theirs?