Overview

As more people have started working from home, surveillance in the remote workplace has intensified. Companies are finding new ways to monitor their employees through webcams, screen capturing, audio recording and more. Employee monitoring software is flourishing. The privacy and mental wellbeing of remote workers are at risk.

In this workshop, following an introduction to the topic from the facilitator, participants will work together in small groups to find creative ways for remote workers to reclaim some of their privacy under the circumstances.

Workshop Resources

The following materials about surveillance in the virtual workplace are collected based on my research. Please feel free to share them with those who are interested.

• Key Features of Employee Monitoring Software:

An information sheet of common features in employee monitoring products.

• Readings and References:

Articles and other resources concerning the topic of employee tracking or surveillance in general collected in preparation for the workshop.

01 Welcome

A round of self introductions for the participants to get to know one another.

02 Presentation

A presentation by the facilitator to introduce the topic and outline what the workshop entails.

03 Group Discussion

The participants break into smaller groups and discuss the trends in workplace surveillance with the Key Features of Employee Monitoring Software as reference.

04 Inspirations and Introduction to Group Work

The facilitator shares examples of related art projects and grassroot inventions.

05 Group Work

The participants work in groups to brainstorm, design and prototype tools to avoid or mitigate surveillance based on a set of predefined scenarios provided by the facilitator.

06 Sharing

Each group shares their anti-surveillance tools with everyone in the workshop.