Worrying: Cognizant is now monitoring laptop, web activity of employees
What's the story
Cognizant has started using new monitoring technologies to track employee activities on company-issued laptops and PCs. The move comes as part of a broader trend in the IT and BPO sectors, with clients demanding more detailed visibility into productivity within hybrid and offshore delivery models. The company has started training select executives on workforce-tracking solutions like ProHance to monitor staff laptop activity and application usage for certain client projects.
Tracking technology
ProHance: A tool for tracking employee productivity
ProHance is a workforce management tool that tracks mouse and keyboard activity to assess employee engagement levels. If there's no activity for over 300 seconds (five minutes), the employee can be flagged as 'idle.' Similarly, if a laptop remains inactive for 15 minutes, the user may be marked as 'away from the system.' The dashboards provide minute-by-minute updates of login times, active applications, and task duration.
Company position
Cognizant's stance on employee monitoring
Cognizant has clarified that the data collected through these tools is not used for performance evaluation but rather to understand client process phases and related time metrics. A spokesperson for the company said, "We occasionally use various productivity measurement tools, a common industry practice, in select business process management or intuitive operations and automation projects, at the request of customers." They added that these tools are only used with employee consent and do not affect team compositions.
Privacy concerns
Employee concerns and privacy issues
Despite Cognizant's assurances, some employees have expressed concerns over the mandatory ProHance course. They fear that even if the metrics aren't officially linked to appraisals now, "idle time" data might informally influence performance conversations. Privacy experts have also flagged gaps in India's data protection framework regarding how employers collect, store, and use monitoring data.
Future implications
The future of employee monitoring at Cognizant
Cognizant's move to monitor employee activity reflects a growing trend of "bossware" in the IT and BPO sectors. Proponents argue such tools can highlight inefficiencies and protect employees from being blamed for system delays. However, critics warn they can hurt morale, promote "activity theater," and undermine trust required for knowledge work.