“Employers/managers can analyse employee activities at the individual level (!), for example, the number of days an employee has been sending emails, using the chat, using ‘mentions’ in emails etc.”
Christl said reports displaying data on individuals can be turned off, but it is automatically enabled by default.
The Cracked Labs researcher, writer and activist also raised questions about whether this tool could actually be used legally in EU countries.
Christl went onto say the Microsoft 365 productivity feature was “problematic at many levels”, saying managers evaluating individual-level employee data was “a no go”.
He also pointed out how this score opens a whole can of worms, as it’s an “arbitrary” metric that could affect millions of employees and shape how organisations are run.
In a statement to The Guardian, a Microsoft spokesperson said the productivity score was an “opt-in” experience.
