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My old manager through covid required us to log the projects we worked on in a day in an outlook calendar to report our work hours. We had cellphones and were expected to be available during working hours to the public. Work productivity soared, and never had to be managed. Work was already tracked in the database anyway.

New manager barely does shit. Has little mechanism for oversight. You'd think itd be great, but no. My productivity is now ass because work assignments are all over the place with half of the supervisory tasks delegated to junior staff "leads" with no consistency. Most of my time is now wasted with email chains and update meetings so he can figure out what is going on.

I miss working all day from home.

Management is often the cause, not the cure, to low productivity.

I don't want to be monitored.

Waaa! Poor babies.

Well this clearly is a matter of bosses needing to get better at their jobs. To which they reply

Subject: Mandatory Implementation: Workplace Monitoring Measures

Dear Team,

In our continued efforts to ensure optimal productivity and discipline across all sectors of our organization, 
we are implementing new, non-negotiable monitoring protocols.

Effective from NOW:

   - 24-hour Webcam Surveillance: All company workstations will be equipped with webcams that will remain enabled at all times. 
    This is a non-negotiable measure to ensure the utmost accountability and discipline. Non-compliance or any attempts to tamper 
    with, disable, or obstruct the webcam will result in immediate disciplinary action.

    - Blood Pressure Monitors: All team members will be required to wear mandatory blood pressure monitors during work hours. This is
    to ensure that every member is operating at peak efficiency. Inconsistent readings or failure to wear the device will be flagged.

Your adherence to these measures is not a choice; it's a requirement. You were chosen to be a part of this team because of your talents and abilities, and it is expected that you will comply with all company protocols.

Any questions, concerns, or objections should be kept to oneself as they will not alter the company's decision 
in implementing these measures.

Let this serve as a reminder that productivity and discipline are the cornerstones of our success. Non-compliance 
will be dealt with swiftly.

Your immediate and unerring compliance is expected.

Regards,

Mr. BossMan

I've been remote since 2019. It's great!

Their No. 1 problem with it is how difficult it is to observe and monitor employees

Um, no. Like others here have pointed out, the overwhelming majority of office workers have to turn in countable digital product of some sort for their job production. LOOK AT IT. Was it the quantity and quality required of them? Well, there you go.

Also, what the hell are you on about, hypothetical boss? In today's technical age, so many bosses can just remote view a worker's screens (even when the workers don't know that it's happening in real time).

It's creepy to spy, but if you really suspect someone's away from keyboard extendedly when they aren't supposed to be, you can literally just look in.

"I can't monitor my employees" is such a weird complaint when counting is a thing and tech tools are out there designed to let you overview your workforce.

But the biggest disadvantage of remote work that employers cite is how difficult it is to observe and monitor employees

I'm sure these employers hire external contractors. Do they insist on observing and monitoring those contractors? Are they going to insist their contracotr's employees be active on Teams at all times?

I hate the idea that if working from home for an employer is somehow different from working as a freelancer from home.

Pre-pandemic, bosses relied on desk visits and peer monitoring, which occurs when co-workers notice and comment on each other’s work, to keep employees on track in the office, and there is no clear replacement for them in a remote setting, Pollak explains.

Again: If they hired a contractor, would they want to "drop by their desk" to comment on their work? Why do they insist on treating employees like Clients from Hell?

“It’s hard to know which measure these software programs track even matters,” Pollak adds. “A lot of knowledge work is done in video meetings, or offline in phone calls, research and brainstorming, and it’s impossible to quantify all of that.”

Yes, exactly. So stop trying to quantify it. Quantify the results of that knowledge work. A results-focused management style works best for remote work, not hovering over your peons waiting for them to make a mistake.

“If the pandemic and ‘great resignation’ taught us anything, it’s that managers need to be intentional and engaged with employees to be truly effective,”

Holy cow, managers need to talk to their workers! Thank The Invisible Hand this priestly Economist has brought this nugget of wisdom from the Ivory Tower.

Also, I love that the image for this article is a bleak and soulless office. I don't know how people see this and still wonder why nobody wants to be there.

Is the work getting completed? Then you don't really need to monitor them.

What KPI's could you be measuring by hovering over someone's shoulder while they work? Their APM?

We can't tell you off for taking a moment to look at your phone or for wearing headphones unless you are in the office; this is how we justify our positions.. so despite the economic, environmental and quality of life improvements we are demanding you return so we can continue to justify our pay and position.

Also fuck you, and get in your cubicle bitch

So glad my boss trusts our team. Quite literally only have a 30 minute meeting with everyone, once a week.

Very rare they ever ask anything from us. If they ever do, I make sure it's a priority and it gets done.

Lool, without having subordinates in shouting distance they're realizing they produce very little themselves, and now the subordinates can organize themselves. God forbid you do some of the work they're doing and help them out a bit eh?

So their own job has no value. Got it.

Daily reminder: economists work for banks, not for us.

Finally, some truth. Micromanagers can’t show their worth because they can’t micromanage.

Micromanagement needs to be fired. It’s old school and outdated.

Sounds like they need retraining or firing then. They need to learn some CRM skills.

I shopped around and recently got a new CRM that works better for what our company is doing, and helps keep tabs on everyone's workload and time tracking and it's so good.

And I'm not even managing anyone, my department is a one-man army. It's just really really nice to be able to hold yourself accountable, take relevant notes for future reference, and see what workload I have every day. I'm still busy and stressed to fuck, but the load off my brain trying to remember every single job I have is phenomenal.

I don't need a meeting or a phone call or an hour standing at anyone's desk, I just open a dashboard and go 'Cool I can see what's coming, whats been done, whos working on it, and all the documentation and logging I need to be informed about how it effects my work' in seconds.