Isobel Rogers’ Post

That was a pretty bold move by Wells Fargo 😯 According to a media report, Wells Fargo fired more than a dozen employees from its wealth and investment management division in May after the bank investigated claims that they were faking work. Why? The employees in question were found to be using a tool known as "mouse jigglers." This involved manipulating their computer's cursor to give the appearance of activity, even when they were not at their desks. This tactic presumably kept their status green, indicating they were present and working. As a recruiter, I know this incident raises important questions about flexibility at work and productivity tracking. Is it right for organizations to require employees to return to the office? Such measures can prevent deceptive practices and ensure accountability. On the other hand, flexibility at work has proven benefits, including higher job satisfaction. While it's crucial to maintain trust and integrity within the workforce, Clear communication, setting realistic expectations, and investing in reliable productivity tools can help bridge the gap between work flexibility and organizational accountability. What are your thoughts on this? #remotework #recruitment 

Wells Fargo fired employees for simulating keyboard activity! 🚨 Electronic worker surveillance is on the rise, with 50% of larger companies using it in 2023. Machine-learning algorithms can now detect repetitive cursor movements and irregular activity patterns. But is this too much monitoring? 🤔 Experts warn that excessive surveillance may reduce productivity, with 41% of workers feeling less productive when monitored. What do you think? Is employee monitoring helping or hurting productivity? #EmployeeMonitoring #Surveillance #Workplace #Productivity #WellsFargo #HR #TechTrends #Discussion #WorkLifeBalance #FollowForMore

Shocking Incident at Wells Fargo: Employees React! 😮💔 Discover the surprising reactions of Wells Fargo employees to a serious event and the company's delayed communication regarding the matter. This eye-opening report sheds light on workplace safety concerns and employee sentiments in the aftermath. #WellsFargo #EmployeeReactions #BreakingNews #WorkplaceSafety #CorporateCulture #OfficeLife #ShockingNews #CompanyResponse #SafetyConcerns #WorkplaceDrama

Let's leave aside for a moment the irony that this is the same Wells Fargo that paid out $185 million in fines—and fired 5,300 employees—following a scandal in 2016 in which executives at the bank had expectations for sales quotas that were so aggressive that many employees felt that the only way to meet them (and receive generous incentives) was to create fake accounts and apply for products in customers' names without their knowledge or authorization. Perhaps Wells Fargo has genuinely turned over a new #ethical leaf and now enforces a zero-tolerance policy for deception. I use "deception" here with great care: regardless of what you may think about employee #monitoring technology generally or about evading it specifically, if you make it appear that you are doing something that you are not (or, conversely, that you are not doing something that you ought not to be), you are being deceptive. I straddled this line myself several—or maybe it was several hundred—times over the course of the Pandemic, when the world was seized with several gloriously wrongheaded beliefs all at once: that every meeting needed to be a video conference; that every video conference needed to have everyone on it, on camera, all the time; that the purpose of a meeting was to passively listen to one person talk; and that there was really nothing you could possibly do to make a meeting more effective than to make it longer. We won't go into detail on exactly where I placed my dancing shoes on either side of that line. Let's say that outside of being a lapsed ethicist, I am aware of the meaning of the word "hypocrisy," so when I call mouse jiggling deceptive, I mean it. All that aside, I have two things to add to this conversation that no one seems to be saying out loud: 1️⃣ Monitoring mouse movement as a proxy for employee productivity is #incompetent. That's not just for the obvious reason (that people do important things for their jobs that don't involve sitting at their computers) but also for the less obvious reason: that people will optimize their behavior for what benefits them. So the only good reason to teach your employees how important it is for them to (hey, manually!) wiggle their mice is if you want them to be great at wiggling mice. 2️⃣ If you are a manager of bankers and you don't have a good way to assess their #productivity based on things like contacts, contracts, and revenue and you have to resort to keyboard and mouse activity, you are also incompetent. #Banks employ bankers for a reason, and that means that there is a way to measure their actual performance against their reason for being there. If you don't know how to evaluate your employees based on some better criterion than their compulsive presence at a keyboard, maybe management isn't for you. So, no complaint from me about these firings, despite what it says about my own ethical compass. But this time, let's maybe have a few more—perhaps, even, where they might make a difference.

Happy Friday, mouse jigglers! 🐭🐭🐭 Interesting read on Bloomberg about Wells Fargo firing over a dozen employees for using "mouse jigglers" to simulate keyboard activity. The wealth and investment management unit saw more than a dozen staffers being discharged for creating an impression of active work through this simulation, as per Finra disclosures. Check out the details here: https://lnkd.in/e8WPSXs5 During the WFH era, tools like "mouse jigglers" became popular, with some selling for as little as $20. As remote work surged, so did the use of technology to track activities like keystrokes and eye movements. Wells Fargo, which transitioned to a hybrid model with both office and remote work, faced this unique situation amid the changing work landscape. #WFH #RemoteWork #EmployeeManagement

The issue highlighted by Wells Fargo sheds light on a common challenge in today's remote/hybrid work model: changes in work ethics impacting productivity. It's crucial that employees fulfill their duties to merit their pay, ensuring positions are filled by those who value the opportunity. While termination may be necessary for non-performing employees, using keystroke counts as a productivity measure is flawed. Different roles require varying tasks, with strategic planning or client communication roles generating fewer keystrokes but holding equal importance. Evaluating based on task-oriented metrics is key to gauging actual contributions. Key points: - Employers should receive fair productivity for the pay provided. - Action, such as termination, is appropriate if responsibilities aren't met. - Keystroke counts don't accurately gauge productivity for all roles. - Task-oriented metrics offer a more precise assessment of employee contributions. - Balancing monitoring with effective systems and communication is crucial. This situation underscores the importance of a balanced approach to productivity monitoring, recognizing both effort and results. #work #ethics #culture #integrity #workplace #wellsfargo #Profitability #employeesurveillance #employees #productivity #humanresources

After hearing that it took Wells Fargo 4 days to notice an employee had died in their cubicle, these lines came to mind. Kis ghalatfehmi me ho yaar tum Kahin permanent nehi ho tum. Jis naukri ke liye aaj jaan dene par tule ho na. Aare apne kaam se beshak pyaar kro yaar, lekin naukri ke gulami me khudko mat bhul jao. Yaad rako kaam zindegi ka hissa hai, puri zindegi nehi. #worklifebalance #lifeoverwork #selfcare #jobisnotlife #realitycheck #lifelessons #mindfulwork

Want to know the difference between managing to activity vs managing to outputs? Did anyone bother to check on what they're supposed to be working on? Something that's a priority for the organization, employee, and manager? The things that's checked in on regularly, clearly prioritized, with agreed deliverables? I'm guessing no. Much easer to grade attendance. ---- Wells Fargo Fires Over a Dozen for ‘Simulation of Keyboard Activity’ via Hannah Levitt, Bloomberg https://lnkd.in/gWfD2E3B #Jigglers #Mouse #MouseMover #Work #Workplace #Management #Presenteeism

A company culture we can all take pride in. We have adopted a set of principles to anchor our company culture. We call them our company Expectations, and they apply to every single employee, at every level, and in every role. The Expectations guide how we conduct ourselves, work with our colleagues, and make decisions. #WeAreWellsfargo #BankingIndustry

Seems as though Wells Fargo have a short memory.... a number of their staff, working from home, have been sacked as they were found to have been using software to fake mouse movements that simulate working when they have not been. Wells Fargo said, and I quote, "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behaviour" BUT... back in 2020, Wells Fargo was ordered to pay fines of $3bn to resolve criminal and civil investigations into the opening of millions of accounts without customer authorisation. This was on a national scale (possibly international levels too). I recall watching a documentary about Wells Fargo and they were also in the hot seat for record levels of bullying behaviour by those with line management responsibility. Now, little old me thinks that seems a bit 'unethical'. And yet, they could pay their $3bn, get a wrap across the knuckles, and essentially told they can continue as they are. This is just one example of the eye-watering levels of hypocrisy of some (not all) large companies. This is one of the reasons I am looking to be a business owner - where I will hold myself to the highest standards first. Then, and only then, will I hold my team to those same high standards. #BusinessEthics #WorkFromHome #SME #SmallBusiness The Thames Valley - promoted by Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Cirencester Chamber of Commerce Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) https://lnkd.in/ee2EJpJJ https://lnkd.in/eScQ5rkh