Opaque bossware in UK workplaces

Updated: 2025.10.04 17D ago 2 sources
A new Chartered Management Institute survey finds about one‑third of UK employers monitor workers’ online activity and roughly one in seven record or review screen activity. Strikingly, about a third of managers say they don’t know what tracking their organization uses, suggesting poor governance and disclosure. Several managers oppose these tools, citing trust and privacy harms. — Widespread but opaque surveillance at work pressures lawmakers and regulators to set transparency, consent, and use‑limits for digital monitoring.

Sources

A UK Police Force Suspends Working From Home After Finding Automated Keystroke Scam
EditorDavid 2025.10.04 70% relevant
The article shows the flip side of workplace surveillance: when institutions lean on shallow activity metrics (keystrokes/idle timers) to manage remote work, employees can game them, and managers respond with punitive policy shifts (WFH suspension) rather than transparent, outcome‑based systems.
A Third of UK Firms Using 'Bossware' To Monitor Workers' Activity, Survey Reveals
msmash 2025.09.15 100% relevant
CMI survey shared with the Guardian: one‑third monitoring; one in seven screen recording; one‑third of managers unsure what tracking exists.
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