Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has urged companies not to spy on their staff working from home, despite a recent report that bosses trust their employees less.
The company report says that 85% of leaders find it "difficult to trust employees to be productive," despite a whopping 153% increase in Microsoft Teams meetings since before the pandemic.
Almost as many workers (87%) believe they are more productive when working from home, and even report burnout. Virtual meeting declines are up 84% in the past two years, while RSVP draft responses are up 216% as bosses turn to regular check-ins to monitor their teams' performance.
Staff monitoring with Microsoft Viva
"We need to get over what we call 'productivity paranoia' because all the data we have shows that more than 80% of people feel very productive, except their management thinks they're not productive," Nadella told the BBC. opens in a new tab).
Microsoft VP Jared Spataro added to Bloomberg (opens in new tab): "There's a growing debate about employee surveillance and a really strong position, we just think it's wrong."
"We don't think employers should monitor and take note of keystroke activity and mouse clicks and that kind of thing because, in a lot of ways, we feel like you're measuring the heat rather than the outcome."
There are plenty of employee monitoring software out there, but Microsoft thinks it can offer something different that encourages employees to prioritize their goals.
Its Viva platform, accessible to 10 million monthly active users, has just undergone a major upgrade, offering even more valuable tools, including the introduction of Viva Pulse, which is designed to facilitate exchanges between company employees.