Employers can see everything you write in email as well as in Slack, Google Workplace, and Microsoft Teams wrctr.co/3ujaAFw
In several of their plans, Google & Microsoft each offer ways for administrators to track usage and metadata from users.
Such data includes what time you sign on, how many messages you send, how many calls you join, or what devices you use.
Such data includes what time you sign on, how many messages you send, how many calls you join, or what devices you use.
The services can also turn the data into measurements & user-activity reports.
In Google Workspace, this feature is called Work Insights, & in Microsoft 365 it’s Workplace Analytics (there’s also a personal version that managers can’t see called MyAnalytics).
In Google Workspace, this feature is called Work Insights, & in Microsoft 365 it’s Workplace Analytics (there’s also a personal version that managers can’t see called MyAnalytics).
These tools display aggregate data about how teams use the apps included in their respective suites—details such as how much time a team spends in specific apps, or collaboration trends based on who has accessed shared documents.
Microsoft recently received criticism for allowing managers to drill down to a specific user to look at their usage, but it has since removed the option to do so.
Some Google and Microsoft 365 plans also support third-party tools, such as Prodoscore, which “tracks the activities of each employee and calculates a productivity score based on their activity levels.” 
According to an expert: “The main risk w/ 365 isn’t the data it’s collecting now, but the kind of workplace culture & expectations it'll create.
Microsoft Office products are the perfect Trojan horse for this—the ultimate mundane office tools, used by everyone, feared by no one”
Microsoft Office products are the perfect Trojan horse for this—the ultimate mundane office tools, used by everyone, feared by no one”
“I worry that managers will get used to the data that 365 offers & start asking for more.
On the flip side, workers will get used to the expectation that every action they take is being tracked & logged, & find it harder to fight back as the surveillance becomes more intrusive."
On the flip side, workers will get used to the expectation that every action they take is being tracked & logged, & find it harder to fight back as the surveillance becomes more intrusive."
Know what kinds of data your manager is collecting, & how your workplace might use it
If you feel comfortable doing so, ask your manager or HR department for details about how (or if) they get these reports.
If you feel comfortable doing so, ask your manager or HR department for details about how (or if) they get these reports.
For now, most people on small teams don’t need to worry about this topic, but it’s possible for the situation to change in the future.
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