Microsoft Productivity Score feature comes in for criticism

[HEXUS]

However, Microsoft asserts that it "is not a work monitoring tool".

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[Corky34]

Boiled frogs anyone?

[Lanky123]

Using a program that doesn't have Microsoft in the name? Clearly you aren't being productive...

[Ttaskmaster]

"by default, reports also let managers drill down into data on individual employees, to find those who participate less in group chat conversations, send fewer emails, or fail to collaborate in shared documents". This sounds a bit like work monitoring.

It may sound like it... but it's not.
Most of my stuff can be done with phonecalls, physical meets and apps outside of MS, so good luck tracking all that lot.
I could also fudge and cludge my way through making it 'look' like I'm doing something in MS, when I'm really just messing around or waiting for a datalink report to finish generating... I'm doing such things right now, in fact, although it's more like eight reports all at once, which is why my system is tied up and why I 'appear' to be doing nothing productive.

Any manager even half-worth their salt would know this is merely suggestive and not conclusive evidence, so should not treat it as such.

[ik9000]

Any manager even half-worth their salt would know this is merely suggestive and not conclusive evidence, so should not treat it as such.

But not all managers are, and many will. When I WFH I regularly transfer things onto my local machine as it is far quicker to do so half the time than use the vpn. What this would show is a hole. Stupid software if you ask me, but there'll be enough idiots who think that's how you manage juniors to think it's a good idea. It risks getting people too paranoid to think properly about what they're doing but instead eager to appear busy - at the cost of actual productivity or detail/reasoned design.

[Ttaskmaster]

But not all managers are, and many will. When I WFH I regularly transfer things onto my local machine as it is far quicker to do so half the time than use the vpn. What this would show is a hole. Stupid software if you ask me, but there'll be enough idiots who think that's how you manage juniors to think it's a good idea. It risks getting people too paranoid to think properly about what they're doing but instead eager to appear busy - at the cost of actual productivity or detail/reasoned design.

Or just educate your manager.

[atemporal]

If your manager is anything like my old one they ain't for educating or reason. Kind of the shoot first, don't ask questions and don't explain why approach was all I got. Given how much I used to do by hand there's only so far these monitoring things go, but unless the people looking at it understand that, well there's going to be some disagreements I suppose. Assuming you are given the chance to explain and discuss things with a manager is all well and good, but bad ones might not give people the opportunity. It's certainly what I felt happened to me at the end. P45 and no discussion or forewarning. Some of the people they kept are liabilities by comparison but because they use computer 100% of the time (when a two line hand check would suffice) they score highly on this metric stuff. I'm in the no-thanks camp for this one I think.

[Ttaskmaster]

If your manager is anything like my old one they ain't for educating or reason. Kind of the shoot first, don't ask questions and don't explain why approach was all I got. Given how much I used to do by hand there's only so far these monitoring things go, but unless the people looking at it understand that, well there's going to be some disagreements I suppose. Assuming you are given the chance to explain and discuss things with a manager is all well and good, but bad ones might not give people the opportunity. It's certainly what I felt happened to me at the end. P45 and no discussion or forewarning. Some of the people they kept are liabilities by comparison but because they use computer 100% of the time (when a two line hand check would suffice) they score highly on this metric stuff. I'm in the no-thanks camp for this one I think.

That is what unions and industrial tribunals are for.
If you don't get the opportunity to explain why their 'evidence' is flawed, then beat them round the head with it at the hearing.

[spacein_vader]

Microsoft say: ""Productivity Score is not a work monitoring tool"" and I believe they mean it. However Microsoft also say "Excel is not a database" and that hasn't stopped millions of misguided souls in organisations across the globe from trying to use it as one.

[rave_alan]

It can be a useful thing for a smart manager in a limited types of situations. For employee, as always, just one more thing to be worried about.

[DevDrake]

Any manager even half-worth their salt would know this is merely suggestive and not conclusive evidence, so should not treat it as such.

But not all managers are, and many will. When I WFH I regularly transfer things onto my local machine as it is far quicker to do so half the time than use the vpn. What this would show is a hole. Stupid software if you ask me, but there'll be enough idiots who think that's how you manage juniors to think it's a good idea. It risks getting people too paranoid to think properly about what they're doing but instead eager to appear busy - at the cost of actual productivity or detail/reasoned design.

You probably violating some compliance rules of your company doing that. At least I am prohibited from such work even it would help company a lot.

[ik9000]

You probably violating some compliance rules of your company doing that. At least I am prohibited from such work even it would help company a lot.

Not relevant here. Not handling confidential client data on my machine that's all cloud based, as are emails etc. It's just analysis and various mundane but non sensitive work. Anything sensitive in my line of work is usually too complicated to do other than on the work machine. Also not breaking any rules or compliance or such like.

You make a Fair comment but I think perhaps more relevant to other lines of work/organisations. Someone finding my excel calcs and thinking they're into something juicy will be quickly bored and disappointed unless they have some strange fetish for the mundane.