5 Things Your Boss May Be Tracking About You

Once upon a time your work ID or badge simply allowed you entry into the office. However, according to a new report, they are now being used to track how long people stay. Now that many companies are requiring employees to return to the office, they have come up with other, more unique ways to make sure they are actually showing up. The Wall Street Journal reveals five ways companies are tracking their employees.

According to the publication, companies are relying on reports from badge systems to figure out who is actually returning to the office, how long they are staying, and if they are actually working. Swipe systems are the old school way they are doing this. 

Some companies have gotten more creative, drawing on other data points. According to Matt Kopel, co-CEO of SwiftConnect, a building-access software provider that works with dozens of Fortune 500 companies, some are using systems that require employees to swipe their mobile phones to print documents. If they swipe multiple times, it's a sign of a full day at the office. "If you don't have two entries a day, you're either working really hard or you're not working," he said. 

Some companies are turning to more granular sources of data such as IP address information transmitted via Wi-Fi to find out where their employees are working from. 

Ceiling-mounted heat sensors can also help employers track workplace occupancy level. 

According to technology providers, another more unique method is weight-triggered sensors attached to chairs that can track workplace occupancy levels.

According to real-estate services company CBRE's survey of employers, 57% of companies are now tracking attendance. 

Almost half who are tracking are doing so based on feedback from managers, while another 41% are tracking through badge swipes, sensors or data indicating where an employee's computer is being used. 

Of all the companies that are tracking, 16% are enforcing attendance. 

"People don't want to be required to come in, and they also don't want to be surveilled," said Goran Svorcan-Merola, an iOS developer for the Times' games department and vice chair of the Times Tech Guild. "It's a little bit infantilizing, in my opinion, to have to take attendance, essentially whether you're coming in or not, rather than relying on: Are you getting your work done?"

Employers are generally allowed to track workers in the office, according to employment lawyers. However, Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, co-chair of the wage and hour practice group at law firm Fisher Phillips, points out that just because someone is at work, doesn' mean they are working. "Badge swipe data, even if it's good data, is not indicative of people working. It just means they're present," she said.