Bossware Is Coming for You: Worker Surveillance Technology Is Everywhere

Technology is giving employers ever-greater abilities to monitor, evaluate, and control workers, all in the name of efficiency. But “bossware”—as the growing constellation of surveillance and automated management tools is often called—has insidious effects on the health, well-being, and livelihoods of people. And while many Americans have encountered stories about harsh conditions in Amazon warehouses, these methods of control are both much older and much more widespread than most of us realize.

Ryan Gerety, acting director of the Athena Coalition, interviewed Jennifer Crane, a member of the STL8 Amazon Organizing Committee, about how bossware affects her and her colleagues. She then led a discussion with Nzinga Hooker of the National Black Worker Center, Wilneida Negron of Coworker, and Brian Callaci of the Open Markets Institute about the widespread harms of bossware and what advocates might do to push back. This session was part of SSIR’s 2023 Data on Purpose Conference: Making Tech Work for Workers, presented in partnership with the Ford Foundation.

To see the rest of the conference and discussions with experts and workers, register here. Other session topics included: Generative AI, bossware and worker surveillance, philanthropic investment in digital innovation, the gig economy, protecting workers, and more.