Remote work brought unfair performance metrics – and employees are gaming them
According to a survey by the Vancouver-based AI human resources firm Visier, more than four out of five workers have engaged in “fauxductivity” – performative work that makes them appear to be working more time than they actually are. The problem, however, isn’t the workers– it’s the way their performance is measured according to Jean-Nicolas Reyt, Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour. Remote work has brought in metrics like hours worked, time spent on a screen, and keystrokes logged, and employees have found ways to game them. “Managers are using unfair metrics that people are gaming because they don't feel it's unfair to game an unfair system,” says Reyt. “The only reason everyone works the same number of hours is because at one point in history most people were factory workers. This has changed. You don’t need to work at the same time in the same location anymore.
