{"id":7602,"date":"2026-08-24T05:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602"},"modified":"2026-08-24T05:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:35:49","slug":"as-workplace-surveillance-grows-experts-say-its-good-to-know-the-ways-your-employer-is-watching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602","title":{"rendered":"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK\u00a0 \u2014 College administrators read an adjunct professor\u2019s comments to students on personal essays. Managers told a pharmacist to spend less time with patients after tracking the number and length of her appointments. Scanners on a warehouse conveyor belt monitored the pace of workers to ensure they inspected hundreds of items per hour.<\/p>\n

Read more Kurtenbach: George Kittle\u2019s impossible return makes no sense. Of course it doesn\u2019t<\/a><\/p>\n

Thousands of employers are keeping tabs on the whereabouts, productivity and communications of workers with technology that was adopted widely during the coronavirus pandemic. A vast array of digital tools still are being used to track locations, collect data on task completion rates, and access work-issued smartphone and laptop cameras, raising concerns about how much privacy employees have relinquished, even in their own homes.<\/p>\n

Employers have always monitored workers, but recent advances in artificial intelligence and data science enable them to create extensive data sets or \u201cdossiers\u201d that can be used to punish workers or attempt to predict employee behavior, said Wilneida Negr\u00f3n, director of research and policy at Coworker, a nonprofit that helps workers organize to improve working conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes, the workers with the least amount of power in the labor markets tend to be testing grounds for some of the more intrusive forms of data collection,\u201d Negr\u00f3n said.<\/p>\n

Some of the most common workplace monitoring programs have shared names, email addresses and other personal worker data with hundreds of outside data brokers and technology companies without clearly disclosing the practice, according to an investigation by Vanderbilt University, Northeastern University and the University of California at Berkeley.<\/p>\n

Data privacy experts and workers who say they\u2019ve been closely monitored spoke with The Associated Press about what they see as the risks of employer surveillance and the steps employees can take to protect their personal information.<\/p>\n

Team up with like-minded colleagues to advocate for yourself<\/h4>\n

Pharmacist Lannie Duong\u2019s job at a medical clinic involved meeting with patients who had chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. She reviewed their medical histories, blood work and symptoms, and adjusted their medications. She frequently enlisted interpreters to help her communicate with patients who had limited English language skills.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Duong said her employer tracked the length of her phone calls and appointments, and in performance evaluations questioned why she took so long with each patient.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was counted. How many minutes you\u2019re on the phone. The minutiae of it was ridiculous,\u201d Duong said. \u201cWe\u2019re just tasked to do what feels like the impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under what she described as unrelenting pressure, Duong felt \u201cnot trusted, not appreciated, almost completely hopeless. It was so depressing.\u201d She eventually went on medical leave and began volunteering with other pharmacists to organize a union.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke up, hoping others would voice their concerns as well, but that didn\u2019t really pan out,\u201d Duong said. She says her employment was terminated after the medical leave.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Many of the employers using surveillance tools do so transparently and engage employee boards in reviewing how the tools are used, Negr\u00f3n said. But there are also employers tracking, ranking and scoring employees in ways that are not transparent to workers, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkers are going to have to come together because the forces of centralizing this kind of tracking and monitoring are moving too fast,\u201d Negr\u00f3n said.<\/p>\n

Find out what kind of data your employer is collecting about you<\/h4>\n

As awareness about surveillance tools grows, some workers are pushing back on tools that track how long it takes to fulfill tasks, saying such monitoring contributes to injuries, and questioning what personal information is being collected and how it\u2019s being used, said Hayley Tsukayama, director of state affairs at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on digital privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, if you are on a machine that\u2019s been issued by your workplace, you should expect that there\u2019s some type of monitoring,\u201d Tsukayama said.<\/p>\n

Researching data collection and surveillance trends in your industry is a good idea, according to Negr\u00f3n. Without that knowledge, workers may find themselves unprepared when confronted with information unearthed during surveillance.<\/p>\n

Read more 49ers trade for veteran linebacker Jones, send running back to Saints<\/a><\/p>\n

While teaching a college writing class, Arianna Anaya discovered that an administrator was reading the papers her students uploaded to the school\u2019s learning management software and the comments Anaya made on the work. The students often wrote about intimate topics, including abuse, eating disorders and family trauma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe school essentially used the online learning system to allow administrators and staff to read student work that was often immensely private and personal, something we were specifically told students should not know about,\u201d Anaya said.<\/p>\n

A colleague who printed out the comments criticized the casual tone Anaya used with students and accused her of not sticking to the course syllabus. A few months later, Anaya\u2019s teaching contract wasn\u2019t renewed, although she doesn\u2019t know the exact reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me quite paranoid,\u201d Anaya said. \u201cIt made me feel less safe in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check state laws to see what\u2019s required of employers<\/h4>\n

Some states, including New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Maine, require employers to notify workers if they\u2019re being monitored. Maine\u2019s law goes further, prohibiting visual monitoring in employees\u2019 homes or personal vehicles unless that kind of observation is required for the duties of the job, said Edward Halle, a privacy and AI compliance manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question becomes, what does the law mean by \u2018the duties of the job\u2019?\u201d Halle said. \u201cA telehealth nurse needs a camera; the camera is the job. A productivity webcam bolted onto ordinary desk work almost certainly isn\u2019t. Where that line falls is the first thing the Department of Labor will be asked to sort out.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you work in a state without a notification requirement, it\u2019s difficult to find out if an employer is using technology to monitor your performance.<\/p>\n

To raise the issue with managers, Tsukayama suggests coordinating with a union. If that\u2019s not an option and you\u2019re asking managers individually, approach the topic cautiously and take a curious tone, she advised. You could say you\u2019ve noticed something on the computer and have questions, such as \u201cHow is this information being used within the company? How might it get out of the company?\u201d Tsukayama said.<\/p>\n

One place to start is asking what specific employee data your organization collects, said Aiha Nguyen, director of the Labor Futures Initiative at Data & Society, a nonprofit institute studying the impacts of technology. If your manager doesn\u2019t know, the information technology department may have answers, since the people working there often are the ones turning on the features, Nguyen said.<\/p>\n

Some common software programs such as Microsoft Office and Zoom have tools that can be used for tracking worker productivity, but the tracking features aren\u2019t always activated. Knowing whether those tracking features are turned on can be difficult, because they\u2019re built into the programs, Nguyen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s automatic. It\u2019s considered something that employers have been able to say, \u2018This is necessary for work. You have to use these tools,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To help safeguard personal information, don\u2019t use work devices to handle family matters or sensitive personal information such as medical conditions, experts advise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most people know that,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cBut it can become tedious to switch between phones, or people don\u2019t really think it\u2019s that harmful. \u2026 You don\u2019t want to potentially put yourself at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP\u2019s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/be-well<\/p>\n

Read more Woman arrested in Antioch on erratic driving charge allegedly damaged two cop cars in attempt to flee<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of employers are keeping tabs on the whereabouts, productivity and communications of workers with technology that was adopted widely during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nAs workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thousands of employers are keeping tabs on the whereabouts, productivity and communications of workers with technology that was adopted widely during the coronavirus pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-24T05:35:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-24T05:35:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602\"},\"wordCount\":1338,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602\",\"name\":\"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-24T05:35:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7602#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching - Next City Digest","og_description":"Thousands of employers are keeping tabs on the whereabouts, productivity and communications of workers with technology that was adopted widely during the coronavirus pandemic.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-24T05:35:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching","datePublished":"2026-08-24T05:35:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602"},"wordCount":1338,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602","name":"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-24T05:35:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/104030e49abd273c9945d26d913b94d3.webp","width":1920,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7602#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it\u2019s good to know the ways your employer is watching"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}