資料來源: http://studioclassroom.com/ad/ad_article.php?article_id=09a01&volume=2013-09-01&zoot=01

 

 

Monitoring employees helps businesses increase efficiency—but at what cost?

 

by Alana Semuels / © 2013, Los Angeles Times. Distributed by MCT Information Services.

Phil Richards used to like his job driving a forklift in a produce and meat warehouse. He took pride in steering a case of beef with precision.
Now, he says, he has to speed through the warehouse to meet quotas, tracked by bosses each step of the way. Through a headset, a voice tells him what to do and how much time he has to do it.
It makes the Unified Grocers warehouse in California operate smoothly with fewer employees, but it also makes Richards’ work stressful.
“We’re just like human machines,” said Richards, 52. “But with machines, they don’t care whether you feel good, or if you’re having a bad day.”

Keeping an eye on employees
Technology has eliminated many onerous work tasks, but it’s now one of the factors contributing to a harsher work environment.
Employers are using technology to read emails and monitor keystrokes, measure which employees spend the most time on social-networking websites and track their movements inside and outside the office. They can see who works fastest and who talks the most on the phone. They can monitor how much time people spend talking to co-workers—and how much time they spend in the bathroom.
It’s all part of an effort to drive down costs and squeeze as much production as possible out of each employee.
“In the kind of economic environment we’re in now, companies become very risk-averse. Managers at every level are saying, ‘I need to know what everyone is doing,’” said Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a global association of human resource professionals. “But there is concern that this technology is being used in some Big Brother way to check in on employees.”...

Discussion Questions

 -Have you ever worked in a place that employed Big Brother-style methods? How did it make you feel?
-Which produces better results: positive incentives like bonuses, or negative consequences for employees? Why?
-Does technology make your work/school environment more or less stressful? Explain.

 

資料來源: http://studioclassroom.com/ad/ad_article.php?article_id=09a01&volume=2013-09-01&zoot=01

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