As millions of people switched to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, some employers searched for ways to monitor employees’ activities and productivity at home.

Enter “tattleware” or “bossware,” common nicknames for surveillance software that employers can install on company devices to keep tabs on workers’ digital activities, or even make recordings of them at home.  This kind of tracking software isn’t new, but its use skyrocketed during the pandemic.

“When COVID-19 pushed people to work remotely, we saw sales of employee workplace surveillance software more than triple,” Harvard Business ethics professor J.S. Nelson told TODAY.

In fact, she said, if you work at a company with more than 500 employees, there’s a good chance that some form of surveillance software is installed on your work devices.

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