Here’s an interesting news item from over the weekend that I forgot to post about yesterday in our weekend wrap-up edition.

An invention described in a newly published Microsoft patent application aims to make sure workers meet their deadlines and do what they’re supposed to do.

The application describes a program that would watch users’ computer activity, automatically offering help and letting supervisors monitor users.

The application centers on “activity-centric monitoring.” The program as described would be capable of monitoring related activity and providing advice or gentle nudging to carry out the task properly.

The program would even be able to determine performance levels across a group of employees and separate the Peak Performers from the non-Performers.

Personally, I think this is typical of our culture’s negative approach to work and the dumbing down of employees.

What happened to innovation, creativty and allowing good employees to make a name for themselves without a computer program assigning a label to them?

You mean to tell me that current management can’t tell when their employees are meeting expected goals, ones in which they were hired in the first place? This should be obvious without needing a computer program to tell us what we should already know.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Actually, on second thought, I encourage Microsoft to develop and implement this application. It will probably make my job a heck of a lot easier!

Nothing’s better for improving the employer-employee relationship than this type of technology.

As respect for people in the workplace continues to deteriorate, Recruiters will reap the rewards as professionals will seek to jump ship from an employer that fosters an environment of mistrust to one that values them as unique human beings and not property.