Junk-Mail Firm Straps GPS Devices To People Handing Out Pamphlets
from the how-low-can-you-go? dept
Down in Australia, a firm that hires teens to deliver junk-mail pamphlets to houses has decided to make their processes a bit more efficient by forcing the kids to wear a GPS device that records all their moves -- making sure they visit the houses they were assigned and do so in the order prescribed by the company. Some of the kids aren't particularly happy about being spied on this way, and apparently the company expected that. With the information pack about the GPS devices, they included a simple resignation form for those who weren't happy about the idea. Again, it seems like this is a modern attempt to bring back Taylorism, the idea that all workplace activities can be scientifically monitored and made more efficient -- as if people were machines. There's nothing wrong with working on ways to make employees more productive, but it needs to occur with the recognition that they're human beings and constantly spying on them and making them feel inadequate tends to hurt productivity more than it helps. It certainly doesn't make for particularly loyal employees. Perhaps that's fine for a business such as a junk-mail pamphleteer, but there is still a cost involved in hiring and training new people, while being able to fill in for those who quit. It's one of those things that sounds good to management (oooh, efficiency! productivity!) but whose consequences aren't carefully thought out. Of course, the firm responds to such charges by including the standard line that no one who is actually a good worker should be upset about being tracked, since it's only designed to spot the bad workers.
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Not Taylorism...
Since that type of environment is pretty unstuctured and low-paying, it's proably a bit much to expect all of the kids to have an exemplary work ethic. Few jobs exist in a completely unsupervised setting where there's no type of monitoring whatsoever.
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Re: Not Taylorism...
I would think that spot checks would be much cheaper, more efficient and less prone to pissing off your young employees...
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They went about it the wrong way!
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Re: Not Taylorism...
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If a good kid is handing them out properly but notices others doing a bad job he might be happy that finally something is done about it since he's too shy or scared or whatever to actually do something about it himself.
How about asking these employees how they feel about it?
Good communication can help a lot in presenting this.
"We know most of you do a great job, but we want to catch the few that don't."
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this one
I would be asking every homeowner for a job at the same time
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What if you were the customer?
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Unfair Judgement / Overzealous Reporting
You said: "they're human beings and constantly spying on them and making them feel inadequate tends to hurt productivity more than it helps"
Firstly I would like to point out that someone reporting for somewhere like here SHOULD NOT mix up 'tracking' with 'spying'. Spying is observation, and suggests direct observation. This is FAR from the case with a GPS tracking system.
In case you hadn't noticed, GPS is ONLY a time signature. It's not visual information. Logistics projects in the modern day often require employee tracking. This is because of the culture of these employees and for protection against those employees actions. Here's two examples:
1. Employee is a young kid, Kid dumps the leaflets in the hedge and goes home for the rest of the day. There is NO GOOD REASON to pay or continue to employ this person. Furthermore, the only other way to solve this issue is to spy on them with a human on the ground! (Which anyone would agree is far worse.)
2. Employee delivers all mail on one day to a particular house with the motivation of a personal dispute. A complaint is launched, and the company needs to verify the reality of this complaint. (similarly, client's have suffered this issue with car crash damage claims, and in several cases, the claims were NOT valid at all, and the vehicles claimed against were hundreds of miles away).
Just because you don't know an industry and you've read a book written in by Orwell does NOT mean that gps tracking is in ANY way equivalent to big brother. You're sensationalist and generalist reporting style does significant damage to my industry because you CHOOSE to be flamboyant. Frankly you're more damaging than any of the above.
With regard to employee handling, many of our clients are advised to leave their employees to their 'daily working life' and 'daily tendencies' and to only approach them for issues which may genuinely affect the company. Many of our clients are very successfull at this. They allow their employees to get away with increased 'freedom' provided paid work is completed. At the same time, logistics firms with large vehicles must try to ensure that these vehicles are not travelling dangerously during these times, for example using a 10T lorry to pickup groceries, and driving at the national speed limit + 20% in order to manage that during lunch hour. The same employer allows other staffs to use smaller company vehicles where appropriate to perform these personal chores.
If you work for a company that treats you like crap, that's exactly what you should expect. That's got nothing to do however, with tracking systems they use, it's the people who run the business.
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What if you were the employee ?
If corporate America openly says that lieing and cheating is standard strategic planning..why would they think that employees are drones that wouldn't say...deliver the OTHER guys pamphlet while visiting every home on the route ?
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All day?
It seems to me the key to this would be the ability to turn it off for breaks, lunch etc, so what they do on their own time is theirs again, but what they do on the clock, is the boss's business, literally.
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Is a job voluntary slavery ?
Hey...think the best and the brightest over at McDonalds wear the clown suits they make the rank and file wear?
Nope.
A two-tired system where management has the privilage of managing their own time and the lower classes don't is inherently objectionable.
Bring back the Wobblies!
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Re: Is a job voluntary slavery ?
Quoth GreenDragon-
>All I can say to that Anonymous Coward is that perhaps >CEO's should be required to wear GPS tracking devices to >prove to the board of directors they were not at the golf >course but actually working for them. Or, congressmen >should wear them to prove they are not out smoking >crack at 2 in the morning ...
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Night Watchman
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Ah, the -entitlements- people think they have
Having a GPS strapped to you is no different than a manager making sure you are doing your job, in person. It's part of the experience.
It's not "voluntary slavery" either, as you are being paid/compensated for your time and efforts. There is no such thing in slavery; you also get to leave any time you want.
It's also a lie for someone to say that upper management is not being monitored either. You see, their job depends on the performance of their subordinates. If their departments fail or fall short, then they get canned just as easily as the delivery person. They are responsible for a larger portion of the company's income and are thus compensated more as an incentive for that position. Where much is given, much is expected, and managers have much more to gain, and much more to lose, and certainly much more responsibility.
Despite what unions try to convince people of, you must "EARN A LIVING". You are not entitled to one. It is up to you to determine that living and who you work for. If you don't like working for MacDonald's, then go work for Burger King. Nobody is forcing you to stay. Frankly, minimum wage work is a dime a dozen and you are infinitely replaceable, those with value get promoted.
Yes, the manager that behaves like a jerk, tends to not go very far as that does not encourage productivity in the workers and thus reflects badly on him/herself. Typically it's the micromanager. Nevertheless, a good manager can hire good people and make them feel positively motivated and thus make themselves look better in the long run. When things work well, supervision becomes less necessary. However, it is a delicate balance between loyalty and resentment.
Despite what people think about themselves, everyone is replaceable in the workforce all the way to the CEO.
I happen to work for a great company that expects performance out of me, but doesn't hover over me while I work. They don't care when I arrive nor when I leave. They just want the job done and done on time. That shows trust and gives me a responsibility to maintain that trust. They compensate me well for my work. I find I work harder for them than I ever did at another job for the same money.
However, it's always the bonehead that screws it up for everyone else. The bum that tosses the leaflets in the bushes and goofs off the rest of the day, that makes life worse for the hard workers. It's also why we have laws. We have laws because of bad people taking advantage of freedom, the same goes for job rules and management techniques of a given profession.
I've found those that think they are entitled are usually the losers that slack off and make the work environment worse for everyone else. Those that understand work is a privilege and not an entitlement tend to go farther in their career.
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Staring into the void
Reading your post is like staring into a black abyss. The only hpe for your psychological wellbeing is that you are trolling.
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... and no one is forced to wear the device - just fill out the Opt-Out/Resignation form, and you don't have to do it.
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Re: Unfair Judgement / Overzealous Reporting
"They allow their employees to get away with increased 'freedom' provided paid work is completed"
The term *get away with* combined with 'freedom' (in quotes) just implies that freedom (and the trust necessary to grant it) is something that must be obtained through deception or trickery on the employee's part (gotten away with). The entire sentence just drips with suspicion ...
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Re: Staring into the void
Your the person I feel sorry for. You obviously don't understand business whereas Supersparky does. His was one of the logical messages here. You on the otherhand merely use a personal put-down.
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Re: Re: Not Taylorism...
As far as pissing them off, are you sure they're pissed? This quote is from the actual article TechDirt referrenced: ""We've cut the amount of time it takes to do their job by 40 per cent and we are still paying the same rate," he said." (he is the managing director of the firm) Who would be pissed about that!? The only worker the article quoted quit without even trying it! If you don't like something, go somewhere else, or if you have the experience, start your own show. Don't try to force everyone else to be like you. That WILL piss everyone else off.
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Re: Is a job voluntary slavery ?
If someone doesn't want to wear the clown suits, they can move to another job. They choose to wear those clothes just like management chooses theirs because they elected to work at those jobs. I pass by many hourly workers every day that don't wear any uniform. And honestly, I am a professional, and wearing a shirt and tie is "objectionable", and I hate it. But, I do it because my customers expect me to wear them. Since they pay me, I do what they say.
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Re: Staring into the void
Where do you think you will be in five years? If you want to be effective in the world you live in you have to play by the rules. Say it was your money being paid to the employee's would you want to know you were getting your money's worth, or are you and avocate of just giving it away?
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Stop complaining
The people complaining about wearing this are just the LAZY BASTARDS who screw things up for the rest of us.
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Re:
The problem is people like you don't opt out and so things like this become common at work. Thereby erroding more and more basic rights.
I've often wondered how long it would be before a device is embedded in my brain so it can't be removed that allowed my boss to see how many times I take a piss, get a cup of coffee, stare away from my monitor, etc.
Why don't you just bend over and get fucked in the arse? Oh right, you already have been.
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Your off on this
Dr. Evil: All right guard, begin the unnecessarily slow-moving dipping mechanism.
[guard starts dipping mechanism]
Dr. Evil: Close the tank!
Scott Evil: Wait, aren't you even going to watch them? They could get away!
Dr. Evil: No no no, I'm going to leave them alone and not actually witness them dying, I'm just gonna assume it all went to plan. What?
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"All I can say to that Anonymous Coward is that perhaps CEO's should be required to wear GPS tracking devices to prove to the board of directors they were not at the golf course but actually working for them. "
I think this is a telling comment. It is only the lowest paid class of workers who are subject to this kind of monitoring. Whereas CEOs who's hourly time is worth $1000's per hour have no monitoring or drug testing. If top management think this sort of monitoring is such a great idea, they should prove it by adopting it first.
I don't necessarily think GPS for canvassers is a bad idea, but monitoring should by applied fairly across a whole company. Unfortunately, GPS monitoring also means that the company can now dictate how many miles per hour each canvaser must walk and can slowly increase and enforce that standard until it becomes extreme.
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Just in case you missed my point
He denies the very existence of economic slavery and clearly has no first hand knowledge of the complex situation of poverty and power.
No doubt Supersparky also believes that child prostitutes kept hooked on drugs are also "free to leave" any time they like.
Comments like: "Having a GPS strapped to you is no different than a manager making sure you are doing your job, in person. It's part of the experience." are so naive as to be offensive. Allow me to rephrase it in a way that might drive the point home...
"Having a ball and chain strapped to you is no different than a manager making sure you are doing your job, in person."
Supersparky sees the right to the basic human dignity of trust as an "entitlement". It is a human right. Other people who are not in his own privillaged position deserve less than he does.
It is an elitist, arrogant position without empathy or sympathy. Frankly, it's borderline psychopathy dressed up in the language of good old fashioned sensible talk about taking responsibilty for your own welfare.
Despite the lofty position from which he speaks so insensitively, remember we are all only one traffic accident or serious illness away from that job in Burger King. Of course I don't wish that upon anybody, but I suspect Supersparky could do with a good dose of exposure to the reality of life at the bottom.
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Tailorism , Wobbilies, and Economic slavery
Dogs can be trained-- and rented or sold to pamphlet delivery personnel.
The GPS device can then be strapped to the dog. All you then have to do is walk your rounds, tossing a newspaper towards the door of the intended pamphlet victim and Walla ! A perfect record recorded. (I have some concern that there might be a great deal of strange circles recorded on the correspond GPS map but I don’t think its anything proper training of the dog will not eventually solve)
With all new technology comes new opportunities ! I recant my socialist ways !
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From a client point of view
During one of our big promotional campaigns about 2 years ago, one of our firm employees happened to find a large pile of around 5000 brochures dumped. It was a complete coincidence that it was found as the employee happened to throw something in a dumpster near shops they visited and see them all just lying there.
Now that was just one confirmed dump, how many more customers have we lost because of this on other dumps?
Of course I could say "Why should the people doing the right thing complain, they have nothing to hide." But at the same time I understand that they do want their freedom. And shouldnt be treated like criminals just becasue other people had ruined it for them.
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Re: Just in case you missed my point
In much the same way, trust is also an earned condition, in that one trusts those who have, through their actions, demonstrated their trustworthiness. To blindy trust that a perfect stranger will act in your best interests and not their own is, to put it bluntly, naive.
One has only to look at the "shrinkage" rates in a major store to realize that some customers, and some employees for that matter, do not deserve your trust. In a similar vein, I'd much prefer not to have to lock my business, my home or my car. Unfortunately, there are just enough people out there ready to take advantage of any opening given that doing so would be foolish.
I'm sure the owner of the business in question would like to believe that all of his employees are honest. And I'm sure that he'd rather not spend the money needed to purchase and run the tracking system in the first place.
But I'm also sure that experience has taught him otherwise.
And finally, if you're one of those people who blindly "respects" and "trusts" anyone and everyone, then we need to talk, 'cause I've got this great little island for sale...
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Re: Re: Unfair Judgement / Overzealous Reporting
No, the concept of 'freedom' in this case, is the level of a 'blind eye' the employer will provide based upon performance of the employee. There is nothing sinister involved here. A police officer is less likely to arrest a man in a suit cought smoking cannabis down a back alley than they are a young punk. A manager will not see a comeback for phoning their wife/husband about dinner if their performance is on par and the work one extra hour every day (this is REALLY commonplace).
Frankly you seem to lack all reality of how a workplace and it's employees really operate. This is why you almost certainly fail as a manager, and you will never work at a high level for a significant project. Furthermore your paranoia driven attempts to suggest 'lack of freedom' are the cream on the cake with regard to proof that you really don't know what your talking about.
Instead of paranioa and sensationalism (which is what leads to most of the issues described on this page) why not try reality and honesty for a change.
With regard to turning these devices off at lunchtimes etc. This is rarely done simply because if you provide the option to turn the devices off, many will turn them off, returning with the excuse "it's broken" having done something irresponsible during the downtime.
Anonymous Coward also seems to believe that freedom should be given to all, but I ask if he/she also agrees that therefore rapists should be allowed out of jail?
Is it really right that someone be paid regularly for a job they don't do? If these people are not trustworthy (as with a rapist) should they have their 'freedoms' removed? Is this 'freedom' when all you are doing is requesting they carry a GPS Device while they work? The difference is, they can quit. You can't quit jail.
Frankly you're definition of freedom is contradictory and ill-prepared. I suggest strongly that you go think what freedom really means before writing such dribble.
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Re:
I don't necessarily think GPS for canvassers is a bad idea, but monitoring should by applied fairly across a whole company. Unfortunately, GPS monitoring also means that the company can now dictate how many miles per hour each canvaser must walk and can slowly increase and enforce that standard until it becomes extreme."
This is a lie. In several of my recent installations, in fact the FIRST vehicles to have GPS Devices installed were installed into the CEO and General Managers vehicles.
Get a clue before opening your mouth please.
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Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
PHP's Employees were given the GPS device AND a resignation form, the implication being that they should use one or the other. But there is another choice - one they hope no one will think of.
The employee could refuse to wear the GPS device AND refuse to quit. This would put the company in the position of having to fire the employee if they wish to enforce their decree. In Australia, large companies must still be prepared to justify sacking their employees in front of a judge. Firing such a worker for this reason may not be considered reasonable - and even if it were, the bad publicity would be crippling.
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This is a necessary development...
A few reasons:
Delivery people of this type often throw their materials away and not delivery them at all. I know this because I did it once or twice. If you can get paid without delivering them, why not save yourself the trouble. It is a lot of effort to prove you never did the work.
Efficiency is important. We once asked one of our employees how many items he thought he delivered that day. His response: 75. If the postal service worked at that speed, we'd never get any mail.
Accountability to clients. We considered delivering materials for other companies at one point. We tried it, and they simply claimed that we never delivered anything. If we had some sort of record that proved that our employees hit the neighborhoods as required, we might consider offering this service again.
I know nothing about workplace surveillance laws, but I don't think this counts. This is not a matter of trying to spy on people, trying to see what they are doing or where they are going in their personal life. This is about measuring output.
If this is surveillance, then tracking the manufacturing output of a factory worker is as well. Nobody is asking these people to wear them at home. Nobody is asking anything unreasonable of them.
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In Australia....
Wrong.
Most unfair dismissal laws were scrapped in Australia earlier this year. This story is part of a bigger story dominating Australian news services for the past year.
That is the government has made it easier for bad bosses (I suspect from reading the article, this guy is one) to ditch unions from their workplaces and implement and "negotiate" individual workplace agreements for their workers.
Before these changes took place, unions were able to negotiate nationally on issues like employee monitoring, toilet breaks, penalty rates etc
Now the poor young workers are given a brochure and a resignation form. Some "negotiation" that.
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A disturbing work ethic
A manager who EVER complains about his employees calling their family members -- you know, the only people that matter in the entire world -- is not even a human being. I would literally crush his/her skull with my foot as I would an insect.
You, Mr. GPS Developer, are a total and complete sell-out. A whore.
Go to your room.
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Re: In Australia....
Except when the company has more than 100 employees (I am familiar with Little Johnny's IR laws). Then it must still be prepared to defend itself if the employee claims unfair dismissal.
I R'ed the FA in the Herald and it said that PMP Distirbution is the country's largest distibutor of unaddressed mail - and it operates out of a warehouse.
I would be very surprised if it had less than 100 employees.
The new never-to-be-sufficiently-damned IR laws also make it clear that a company cannot divide itself into smaller "employment companies" just to get around unfair dismissal law (as lax as it it).
So I believe it likely that Unfair Dismissal still applies in this case.
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Re: They went about it the wrong way!
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Re: Is a job voluntary slavery ?
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My take on having to wear a GPS or lose your job
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My take on having to wear a GPS or lose your job
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My take on having to wear a GPS or lose your job
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Re: Staring into the void
OUR CHILDREN DON'T YOU THINK PARENTS STEER OUR CHILDREN
IN TO THE WRIGHT WAYS OF WORKING AND AT A PRIME AGE
WE WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THERE DINGNITY MANDY
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and still get told off mandy
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