Leader: Don't police your workers

Has technology become yet another crutch for incompetent managers?

It's disturbing to see services - such as a new one from MobileLocate - that can be used by businesses to track an employees' location via mobile phone.

In-the-office tracking is bad enough - things like keystroke monitors used in call centres (and other environments) to determine whether or not workers are typing frequently enough to satisfy the bosses. Now this.

First, there are the privacy concerns. Businesses could argue they have a right to know what employees are doing on their watch - but when they're on the road too?

An anonymous silicon.com reader from the UK objected to this in a reader comment: "[It's] fine tracking you when you are supposed to be working, no problem. But what about your free time? Nothing at all to do with your employer."

Companies such as MobileLocate which sell mobile-tracking respond to the privacy issue by saying employees must legally consent to be tracked and can always turn off their phones if they don't want to be located.

But who would agree to being tracked? Perhaps in exchange for the ability to work from home, some other flexible working plan or even additional salary but, without some incentive, it's hard to imagine who would say 'yes'. Are companies willing to go as far as to threaten to fire a worker for not agreeing to be tracked?

What impresses us more than privacy, though, is what this reveals about managers. Forget about employees' feelings for a moment, what kind of manager would want to force such an imposition on their staff? Don't bosses know the best way to govern is to gain underlings' trust and respect not watching their every move?

Mobile tracking may be no worse than reading employees' emails - but we'd argue that's not the best way to make sure they're doing their jobs either.

silicon.com reader Roger Huffadine, a CTO from Worcester, wrote in response to our article on MobileLocate: "If your managers can't manage employees without tracking systems then fire the managers and get proper ones. Treat adults as responsible adults and discipline them if they rip you off. But this tracking thing is nonsense - unless it is being used for safety of individuals in dangerous jobs. Then it could be justified."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.