Wells Fargo Fires Several Employees Using a Mouse to Fake Productivity: Tech: iTech Post

Many companies are urging their employees to return to offices to work after introducing remote work during the pandemic. One reason is that employee productivity can be more easily monitored. Wells Fargo’s latest findings show that employees actually have clever ways of faking productivity.

Employees fired for using ‘mouse shifters’

It’s not uncommon for employers to monitor their employees’ computers to check whether workers are being productive, but during the pandemic, apps and software with this feature have become more widely adopted as employees have no choice but to work from home.

Even though the pandemic has ended, some companies still enable remote work and use the aforementioned monitoring applications that base productivity on mouse movements. Employees have found clever ways to cheat the software using devices or other software.

This would automatically move cursors to trigger keyboard entries even if they’re not on a workstation, but like all technology, monitoring services have undergone updates that can detect when mouse movements are also being used, according to The Verge.

Previously it only detected movement, some programs can now detect patterns even if moving the mouse appears to be causing random movements. Wells Fargo caught more than a dozen employees doing this trick, which led to the firing of the employees involved.

It is unclear whether the employees in question were working in an office or remotely, but it is likely the latter, especially when the mouse-moving tool used is hardware rather than installed software. The laid-off employees worked in Wells Fargo’s wealth and investment management division.

Over time, more clever ways may emerge to fake productivity in the workplace, whether at home or in the office, to the point that current software will no longer be able to detect patterns. However, the same level of sophistication can also be achieved with monitoring software.

There is more than one downside to this situation. In addition to employees being laid off, whether they deserve it or not, it also hits those who honestly work remotely but are forced to return to work on-site.

Also read: Dell remote workers will not be considered for promotions

Companies commissioning work on site

Now that the pandemic has receded significantly from its peak, companies find that remote setup is no longer necessary. Several people argued that having an on-site presence creates a better environment for employees, but this is not the case for all employees.

Some companies, such as IBM, have even made it mandatory to follow a hybrid configuration to the point of telling employees to return to the office or quit. According to CNBC, managers must be in the office at least three days a week.

A December 2023 survey of 800 business leaders resulted in eight in ten saying they would monitor employee office attendance this year, and approximately 95% saying uncooperative employees would face consequences if they did not comply to these recommendations.

Related: Report says the number of full-time remote workers in the U.S. will increase by 20% next year.