More managers are employing “bossware” surveillance technology, but it comes with big risks

If you’re reading this during work hours, there’s a chance your boss knows about it. The market for “bossware” — digital tools that enable managers to keep tabs on what workers are up to — is reportedly booming.

News reports recount tales of healthcare workers being ranked “idle” for not typing while counselling drug patients, and hospice chaplains losing “productivity points” for spending too long with the bereaved or dying.

In the United States 60% of employers with more than 200 workers now use “employee productivity monitoring technologies”, according to market research firm Gartner.

Once loaded on your computer, these tools (with names such as Clever