Microsoft surveillance office usage?

[SpyderTracks]

Now this is concerning to say the least, I hope this is found to be anti consumer because this kind of snooping just cannot be endorsed even in a company environment!

‘Dangerous’ And Hidden Microsoft Feature Could Destroy Your Career And Your Business

A new Microsoft 365 feature designed to boost performance could spark management and staff behavior that undermines it.

www.forbes.com

 

[AgentCooper]

Now this is concerning to say the least, I hope this is found to be anti consumer because this kind of snooping just cannot be endorsed even in a company environment!

‘Dangerous’ And Hidden Microsoft Feature Could Destroy Your Career And Your Business

A new Microsoft 365 feature designed to boost performance could spark management and staff behavior that undermines it.

www.forbes.com

Eek, I don’t think my employers will be happy to know how much time I spend optimising systems for people on here 😜

 

[Gavras]

Now this is concerning to say the least, I hope this is found to be anti consumer because this kind of snooping just cannot be endorsed even in a company environment!

‘Dangerous’ And Hidden Microsoft Feature Could Destroy Your Career And Your Business

A new Microsoft 365 feature designed to boost performance could spark management and staff behavior that undermines it.

www.forbes.com

Nothing new, I assume it’s about business Analytics, the like of Delve Analytics has been around for a few years.

One of biggest problems can be not managers snooping on employees but employees snooping on team mates etc and ‘borrowing’ ideas, ‘borrowing’ someone else’s work etc and submitting it before them and taking credit..

it’s actually scary just what the average digital foot print an employee makes and the ‘breadcrumb’ trail.

There are quite a few applications out there.

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www.capterra.com

 

[ubuysa]

Now that COVID has made home working more popular than ever I think this kind of 'monitoring' of home working employees is going to become more important to employers and far more widespread. It's a sign of the times I think.

 

[TonyCarter]

My employer doesn't mind how we spend our days...as long as the quality/amount of work doesn't decrease.

So sometimes I'll spend a few hours in the middle of the day 'doing internet', but then spend a couple of hours in the evening 'doing work'.

At the end of the day I get paid based on deliverables, not on hours. Plus I'm not sure how Microsoft can track my 'thinking time' when I spend 4 hours plotting stuff on flip-charts to see how best to represent a diagram/process.

 

[ubuysa]

At the end of the day I get paid based on deliverables, not on hours. Plus I'm not sure how Microsoft can track my 'thinking time' when I spend 4 hours plotting stuff on flip-charts to see how best to represent a diagram/process.

The do it through the ether. A tinfoil hat will protect you...

 

[Pyracantha]

'But knowing you’re scored on how often you use PowerPoint or Teams could make you hesitate or even bury your ideas.' Scary thought.

 

[ubuysa]

'But knowing you’re scored on how often you use PowerPoint or Teams could make you hesitate or even bury your ideas.' Scary thought.

Oh I agree, don't think I'm advocating for detailed monitoring home workers. One of the reasons I worked for myself was to avoid that.

The simple fact is that "there is no such thing as a free lunch". Home working brings a great many benefits to the employee, and some to the employer too, but it also brings new challenges in managing employees. That means there are going to be some (unexpected) negative aspects to working from home and people will have to decide individually whether the 'price' of working from home is worth it to them.

As far as 'ideas' go, it's worth reading the small print in your contract of employment. I've worked for some employers in that past who (through the employment contract) claimed ownership of all ideas I had whilst employed by them...

 

[SpyderTracks]

As far as 'ideas' go, it's worth reading the small print in your contract of employment. I've worked for some employers in that past who (through the employment contract) claimed ownership of all ideas I had whilst employed by them...

I've come across that one a few times and refused to sign the contract before it was rewritten.

Developers especially have to watch out for that.

 

[Gavras]

I've come across that one a few times and refused to sign the contract before it was rewritten.

Developers especially have to watch out for that.

We have very specific wording, it’s in large easy to read English, they sign or don’t work.

Unless employers specify this, then they would not own parts of their source code.

The software industry is fragile enough as its is (and incestuous at times) that have all employees and teams of employees own code would be a nightmare for the industry.

I have a very simple approach at interviews, you get one chance only to sign or not sign, the door closes.

for some industries, it’s mandated by regulation / legislation that a company is the sole owner (A lot comes down to liability).


on flexible working, I have zero problems, as long as people are as available at home as they are at work.

No matter the persons position, it’s never good when major decisions or even just answering a quick question, has to wait until they finish a round of golf or trip to shops. Had a few one way conversations since March over that, it’s also funny when they quote flexible working and you schedule a Sunday meeting (flexible working).

 

[SpyderTracks]

We have very specific wording, it’s in large easy to read English, they sign or don’t work.

Unless employers specify this, then they would not own parts of their source code.

The software industry is fragile enough as its is (and incestuous at times) that have all employees and teams of employees own code would be a nightmare for the industry.

I have a very simple approach at interviews, you get one chance only to sign or not sign, the door closes.

for some industries, it’s mandated by regulation / legislation that a company is the sole owner (A lot comes down to liability).


on flexible working, I have zero problems, as long as people are as available at home as they are at work.

No matter the persons position, it’s never good when major decisions or even just answering a quick question, has to wait until they finish a round of golf or trip to shops. Had a few one way conversations since March over that, it’s also funny when they quote flexible working and you schedule a Sunday meeting (flexible working).

I have zero issues with any company related ideas being company property, but the contracts I've rejected haven't specified that, they've literally related to any IP's I've come up with related to work or outside of that while under their employ. It's an outdated and insufficient contract, a "proper" contract will outline the area's that doesn't apply.

 

[Gavras]

I have zero issues with any company related ideas being company property, but the contracts I've rejected haven't specified that, they've literally related to any IP's I've come up with related to work or outside of that while under their employ. It's an outdated and insufficient contract, a "proper" contract will outline the area's that doesn't apply.

Yeah agree with that, as long as company resources not used, that’s hardware, software, people and infrastructure.

In my last job, we spent a year or so making contracts, schedules etc far simpler to read and removed (with our legal team assistance) legalise terms and language that make contracts a pain to understand, nevermind read.

its also humorous where ideas actually come from, an individual often claims it was their idea, but it’s actually from someone else, just they got there first.

 

[SpyderTracks]

its also humorous where ideas actually come from, an individual often claims it was their idea, but it’s actually from someone else, just they got there first.

Look at most of the big tech companies, it's all ideas "stolen" from others:

Microsoft bought DOS that got them into IBM and off the ground but stated it was their own IP and never gave credit to the actual devs, then stole Windows 1.0 from Apple
Facebook stole the idea from the Winklevoss twins at Harvard
Original iPhone was stolen from a Floridian inventor who filed the patent in 1992, it's literally a carbon copy of that patent.
Uber was stolen from Celluride, Travis Kallanick was just a nasty nasty guy from the very start
Spiegel and Murphy stole the Snapchat idea from Brown and settled with him after a nasty court battle.

 

[Gavras]

Look at most of the big tech companies, it's all ideas "stolen" from others:

Microsoft bought DOS that got them into IBM and off the ground but stated it was their own IP and never gave credit to the actual devs, then stole Windows 1.0 from Apple
Facebook stole the idea from the Winklevoss twins at Harvard
Original iPhone was stolen from a Floridian inventor who filed the patent in 1992, it's literally a carbon copy of that patent.
Uber was stolen from Celluride, Travis Kallanick was just a nasty nasty guy from the very start
Spiegel and Murphy stole the Snapchat idea from Brown and settled with him after a nasty court battle.

Yep, been involved in all that, I’ve even been shown a competitors new product by a supplier.

The supplier found it a surprise when we cancelled our contract with them lol.

if taking photographs at a trade show, make sure you know all measurements of the staff ‘posing’ next to the competitors product lol.

Dyson found listening devices fitted to parts supplied to it by their supply chain.


go back to industrial revolution and if happening with our ‘modern’ legal system, we would have had to wait an extra 30 years for trains etc lol.

 

[ubuysa]

Look at most of the big tech companies, it's all ideas "stolen" from others:

Microsoft bought DOS that got them into IBM and off the ground but stated it was their own IP and never gave credit to the actual devs, then stole Windows 1.0 from Apple
Facebook stole the idea from the Winklevoss twins at Harvard
Original iPhone was stolen from a Floridian inventor who filed the patent in 1992, it's literally a carbon copy of that patent.
Uber was stolen from Celluride, Travis Kallanick was just a nasty nasty guy from the very start
Spiegel and Murphy stole the Snapchat idea from Brown and settled with him after a nasty court battle.

And the Grinch stole Christmas!