Algorithmic arbitrary rule: Increasing surveillance via app in the field
According to a study, data collection and algorithmic monitoring are having such a massive impact on the work of field staff that they are becoming transparent.
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Employees in the field, from technical maintenance to mobile care services, are increasingly controlled and monitored via smartphone. In extreme cases, not only are all work steps specified via special apps, but they are also rigidly structured digitally and accelerated to the maximum. This is the conclusion reached by Viennese internet researcher Wolfie Christl from Cracked Labs on behalf of the Austrian Chamber of Labor in a study on the digital monitoring and algorithmic control of service employees via smartphone.
In the analysis presented to heise online, which is due to be published on Tuesday afternoon, the researcher, who focuses on questions of algorithmic behavioral analysis of employees, examined field service software from Microsoft (Dynamics 365 Field Service) and other manufacturers such as SAP and L-mobile from Germany as well as Salesforce and Oracle from the USA. He also conducted interviews with those affected and experts, such as trade union consultants.
According to the study, an app is increasingly giving employees in the field digital instructions about appointments, destinations and tasks to be carried out on site. It records data on work activities, movements and other behaviors. According to Christl, there are "powerful software systems in the background that help companies coordinate appointments and assignments and automate and optimize the allocation of work orders". Managers and dispatchers in the office could monitor locations and work progress in real time, evaluate work performance and identify undesirable behavior.
GPS tracking every minute recommended
Microsoft is promoting Dynamics 365 for use in various industries such as insurance, horticulture and cleaning. The system offers extensive functions for algorithmic control. Managers have access to reports that present evaluations for groups and individual employees – partly in the form of ranking lists. GPS tracking is optional, but is required for some functions. The US software company recommends recording the location every 60 to 300 seconds. This enables the algorithmic assignment of work orders based on defined "optimization targets". The Copilot AI function is built in. The field service systems of the other manufacturers involved work in a similar way.
Until recently, Microsoft offered – as well as Oracle – an AI-based forecast of future work performance. However, the Redmond-based company has since removed this feature without giving a public explanation. Prior to this, another investigation by Christl had caused a stir.
According to the latest results, detailed digital structuring and control of processes restricts employees' scope for action. "Inadequate digital mapping of work activities can lead to multiple problems," warns Christl. "In the worst-case scenario, an algorithmic arbitrary rule emerges in which employees have to fulfill the rigid requirements of an unrealistic and dysfunctional system with time constraints that are too tight."
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Works councils should take countermeasures
Automated decisions can be flawed, discriminatory or non-transparent, often without the possibility of appeal, the author points out. However, responsibility for shortcomings is often shifted to the employees. Rigid digital control disconnects work from meaning, which can be accompanied by a devaluation of the activity and a loss of experiential knowledge. Data collection centralizes control and shifts power relations, which promotes standardization, rationalization and potential wage pressure.
According to the study, purely economic optimization leads to tight schedules without buffers, which shifts the risk of delays onto employees and can lead to accusations of manipulation if the system is used "creatively". Frequent schedule changes are linked to unpredictable working days and could lead to staff shortages in scheduling and overall.
Surveillance generally encroaches on privacy and autonomy and harbors the risk of abuse and mistrust, Christl complains, while performance and behavioral checks increase the pressure to conform. Overall, there is a risk of stress and negative effects on occupational health. However, works councils in particular have important rights in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and occupational health and safety laws to counteract this.
(akn)
