Just started working remotely and they installed tracking software that marks me offline after 5 minutes. Is this normal?
Shift is 6pm to 2am. Day one they had me install something called TeamLogger. It tracks keyboard and mouse activity the whole shift and takes random screenshots so management can see your screen anytime.
Here's where it gets weird. I'm required to log 8 hours daily. The timer only runs when you're actively moving. Stop for 5 minutes. bathroom, reading docs, just thinking timer pauses. So I sat there for basically 9 hours today, gave it everything, and still clocked out at 7 hours logged.
I did my best and still came up short because I dared to think for a few minutes.
What bothers me most:
You can work a full shift and still not hit 8 hours on their system
Thinking, reading, debugging none of it counts unless your mouse is moving
Random screenshots mean management sees your screen without any warning
Night shift 6pm to 2am already wrecks your sleep and social life
All of this on day one, before you even proved yourself
I understand remote work needs some accountability. But this feels less like trust and more like they bought software and called it management.