Recently our company has implemented a tracking software on our computers to see how many hours we actually work, and asked us to fill at the end of the day what we were doing in the remaining time in which we weren't working on our computers. And when I directly asked about it, I was told rest room visits should now be considered as unpaid breaks, and this time should be made up, since they are giving us a 30-minute paid lunch break. I feel this is a mistrust to employees, and a form of micromanagement, and I am psychologically affected by it. Is this normal in the workplace in the US, and are my feelings valid, or I am over-reacting to something common?

[AceRimmer]

Originally Posted by Diurnal

Recently our company has implemented a tracking software on our computers to see how many hours we actually work, and asked us to fill at the end of the day what we were doing in the remaining time in which we weren't working on our computers. And when I directly asked about it, I was told rest room visits should now be considered as unpaid breaks, and this time should be made up, since they are giving us a 30-minute paid lunch break. I feel this is a mistrust to employees, and a form of micromanagement, and I am psychologically affected by it. Is this normal in the workplace in the US, and are my feelings valid, or I am over-reacting to something common?

I never got paid breaks anywhere. That's a good deal. The rest isn't. Especially the restroom breaks. I was just in another forum looking and I saw a guy whose company made them clock out for restroom and most people told the guy to quit. It is definitely micromanagement. You should start looking for another job.

[sarahsweets]

OSHA Standards for Employee Bathroom Breaks | 360training

[seesaw]

I am a consultant and a lot of my clients use a time tracking software that takes screenshots. I have no problem with it considering I'm a consultant, I charge hourly, and a high rate. On the other hand, I have a full time employee who works for me. I check in with her regularly throughout the day, and since she's in training and we are consciously trying to monitor her workload to get her to having half her time as billable hours, we do check in on how she spent her day, and due to her learning disability, I help her block her time each day so she can complete tasks successfully and prioritize appropriately. This feels a little micromanagerish to me, and I dislike it, but she is in training, and we tried working a different way that was more hands off and found that for now, while she's learning so many new tasks, she needs the support to check in and ask questions and show me how she's doing.

My point being that there are times when closer oversight of an employee is called for and appropriate, and times when it's controlling, hostile, and oppressive. And as Sarahsweets linked to OSHA, possibly even breaking the law. I would not stay under any employer who required me to clock out to use the restroom. I think you should investigate further to see if this is actually legal where you live and under your employment structure.

[divine1966]

I don’t believe it’s legal to restrict staff in their bathroom usage.

Now if you take 30 minutes break every hours then it’s an issue and they should address it. If it’s normal bathroom break, then it shouldn’t be an issue.

I’d talk to HR and personally not continue working for them. It’s too much

[bpforever1]

All my lessons are recorded and monitored. Initially, I found it to be a pain. But now, I'm used to it.

[Bat_Orchid90]

Originally Posted by Diurnal

Recently our company has implemented a tracking software on our computers to see how many hours we actually work, and asked us to fill at the end of the day what we were doing in the remaining time in which we weren't working on our computers. And when I directly asked about it, I was told rest room visits should now be considered as unpaid breaks, and this time should be made up, since they are giving us a 30-minute paid lunch break. I feel this is a mistrust to employees, and a form of micromanagement, and I am psychologically affected by it. Is this normal in the workplace in the US, and are my feelings valid, or I am over-reacting to something common?

I was at a job like this. A call center. They were SUPER uptight. You couldnt have your phone even on your person. If a floater so much as seen the outline of a cell phone in your pocket they fired you on the spot. You didnt have to be using it, they didnt issue a warning, you were just asked to leave that moment. We would have to log in and then log out if we went to the bathroom. Theyd sometimes have floaters come in bathrooms to ensure no one was sneaking a phone call. If there was an emergency they had to call the company phone and go through the prompts and ask management to ask for you... all bathroom breaks were logged. You had to sign in and out and it counted every second every minute you were away from your computer. Literally a different log in/out specifically for bathroom usage. They literally had people walk around and it was their job to just be up peoples butts...some would just drop in on your calls to make sure you were doing the right thing but it doesnt feel good having someone plug into your calls out of the blue...

[AceRimmer]

Originally Posted by Bat_Orchid90

I was at a job like this. A call center. They were SUPER uptight. You couldnt have your phone even on your person. If a floater so much as seen the outline of a cell phone in your pocket they fired you on the spot. You didnt have to be using it, they didnt issue a warning, you were just asked to leave that moment. We would have to log in and then log out if we went to the bathroom. Theyd sometimes have floaters come in bathrooms to ensure no one was sneaking a phone call. If there was an emergency they had to call the company phone and go through the prompts and ask management to ask for you... all bathroom breaks were logged. You had to sign in and out and it counted every second every minute you were away from your computer. Literally a different log in/out specifically for bathroom usage. They literally had people walk around and it was their job to just be up peoples butts...some would just drop in on your calls to make sure you were doing the right thing but it doesnt feel good having someone plug into your calls out of the blue...

The guy I saw on the other site said it was a call center too. I guess if you can't get another job you would work at one of those places.

[divine1966]

My daughter worked at a call center briefly when in college, she worked ton of strange somewhat funny jobs while in college. It was the worst job ever because of how they were monitored and because of how she was treated by people she called to. She was called names and yelled at every day. The call center was for a cancer charity not like debt collectors. And supervisors watched their every step. Awful job.

[Hobbit House]

Yes, I worked for a call center for a few months. Most uptight bunch of people I EVER worked for in my life. I echo all the above stories.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Hobbit House

Yes, I worked for a call center for a few months. Most uptight bunch of people I EVER worked for in my life. I echo all the above stories.

I worked at a call center prior to the advent of the smartphone. Yes, we were highly monitored, log in and out for breaks due to the nature of the robocall system, but I didn't really feel micromanaged by it. I think it comes down to personal preferences at a certain point too.

I am not working in a call center, but as long as you are not using the computer on a specific app, the tracking system doesn't count. In other words, you can be sitting at your desk, and wandering for few minutes here and there, and the system doesn't count that as work time, and since they are required us to report what we were doing in the remaining time that we weren't working on the app, and this time cannot be legit time according to the new system, this means that any minute (walking, bathroom visits, chatting with colleagues, making a cup of coffee, ..., etc) you don't spend on the app has to be made up. Now I am not saying to spend the majority of our times doing non productive things, but still not allowing anything else other than working on a certain app feels too much.

[Hobbit House]

Originally Posted by Diurnal

I am not working in a call center, but as long as you are not using the computer on a specific app, the tracking system doesn't count. In other words, you can be sitting at your desk, and wandering for few minutes here and there, and the system doesn't count that as work time, and since they are required us to report what we were doing in the remaining time that we weren't working on the app, and this time cannot be legit time according to the new system, this means that any minute (walking, bathroom visits, chatting with colleagues, making a cup of coffee, ..., etc) you don't spend on the app has to be made up. Now I am not saying to spend the majority of our times doing non productive things, but still not allowing anything else other than working on a certain app feels too much.

Sounds like ******** to me. I wouldn’t have lasted a week! You are allowed two fifteen minutes breaks a work shift. That osha policy.