Last month, more than a dozen employees from Wells Fargo were terminated following an investigation that revealed they were engaged in “fake working,” according to a Bloomberg report.
The employees, all from the wealth and investment management unit, had been simulating keyboard activity to create the impression of being actively engaged in their work. This internal investigation concluded with their discharge on May 8.
Details regarding whether the keyboard simulation involved external devices or specific software were not immediately clear, nor was the precise location of the accused employees.
Laurie W. Kight, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, stated that the company upholds its employees to the highest ethical standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior. However, she declined to provide further comments on the specifics of the case.
Wells Fargo employees operate under a “hybrid flexible model,” which was implemented in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
This model generally requires employees to be in the office at least three days a week, with some management personnel working four days and branch workers five days a week. Wells Fargo’s return to office policies were among the last to be enforced in the financial industry post-pandemic.
The practice of monitoring employees to ensure productivity has become increasingly common, especially since the onset of the pandemic. Companies, including Wells Fargo, employ various software tools and devices to log and monitor employees’ activity, such as keystrokes, clicks, and online behavior.
Dan Mauer from the Communications Workers of America highlighted that such surveillance practices have become widespread across many companies.
Despite the prevalence of employee monitoring, there are few regulations in place to protect workers from such surveillance. Legislative efforts, such as the “Stop Spying Bosses Act” introduced in Pennsylvania, have seen little progress.
In response, some employees have resorted to using gadgets or software to mimic work activity, as reported by Bloomberg, demonstrating a form of passive resistance to workplace surveillance.
