She received a warning and was terminated a few months later. In the meantime, the employer had monitored her while working from home.
How was the terminated employee monitored? The employer installed a program on the former employee’s work computer that counts keystrokes. This allowed them to track minute by minute when she was at the computer and how much she was typing for her employer in the insurance business. Apparently, the use of the keyboard was central to the work of the woman, who had worked for the company for 18 years until her termination in February 2023.
Among other outlets, the Daily Mail Australia reported on the events.
54 keystrokes per hour
What is she accused of? After she repeatedly missed meetings in the fall of 2022 and failed to meet deadlines without comment, she not only received a warning. From October to December, she was subjected to online monitoring via the previously mentioned recording program on 49 working days.
According to the company, a missed deadline triggered the measures. The company even had to pay a fine imposed by an authority for that.
What did the monitoring reveal? During the monitoring period, she pressed significantly fewer keys than usual during the times she was logged into the employer’s system. In October, she did not press a single key during 117 hours of working time, and in November, the keyboard was even left unused for 143 hours. In December, it was only 60 hours, but likely the recording period was also the shortest then.
On average, she pressed a key 54 times per hour during the relevant period—this means when all keystrokes are divided by the actually agreed working hours.
What does the terminated employee say about the accusations? She disputes this and insists that she did not neglect her work like that at all. While she may have gone shopping occasionally and sometimes progressed slower than usual, she claims that the data does not reflect reality. Furthermore, she allegedly sometimes logged into the company system (likely in parallel) with another device that did not have the program installed which records keystrokes. The reason for this was said to be technical problems with the main computer.
She also refers to unspecified issues with her mental health.
Termination is upheld
The Fair Work Commission of Australia—a kind of arbitration board—ruled in favor of the employer and upheld the termination. They provided sufficient evidence that she did not fulfill her work obligations according to the contract.
What is she doing now? She has built a small following on TikTok but is still looking for regular work. However, she fears that due to the now substantial public attention, she has diminished chances of success in this search.
We refrain from mentioning further details. Those who are interested can read about them, for instance, in the above-linked Daily Mail Australia, which has spoken with the affected person personally.
Whether in the home office or following the usual work model together in large office buildings, one aspect has long accompanied work: meetings, conferences, or whatever you call them. However, studies suggest that this activity has become excessive in recent years: “Maximum human inefficiency” – Microsoft explains why we accomplish so incredibly little work in the office
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