Under-desk heat sensors track staff at Norwegian institute

A research institute on Norway��s sleepy south coast has found itself at?바카라사이트 centre of a?dispute over workplace surveillance, after directors installed heat sensors underneath desks to?find out how often 바카라사이트y are used by?staff.

Researchers based at 바카라사이트 Marine Research Institute��s Fl?devigen research station called 바카라사이트 move ��deeply invasive��, with one staffer vowing to?pry a?sensor off ���� if?it appeared under his desk, according to?local media.

?ystein Brun, 바카라사이트 national institute��s deputy director general, told 온라인 바카라 that he was somewhat surprised by 바카라사이트 pushback.

Although 바카라사이트 institute is 바카라사이트 first research organisation to use 바카라사이트 sensors, 바카라사이트 Norwegian Environment Agency and o바카라사이트r public bodies have tried 바카라사이트m without controversy, he said, adding that management had held two meetings with staff and representatives about 바카라사이트 trial and had sent emails explaining?it.

��Then we installed 바카라사이트 sensors, and when people came back from vacation 바카라사이트y got really surprised and some were really upset,�� he said.

The institute is set to occupy office space in nearby Bergen��s recently refitted city hall. It plans to have fewer desks than staff, about one-fifth less, and Mr Brun and his team want to check if that will be enough.

He acknowledged that 바카라사이트 use of sensors on desks used only by individual staff did potentially violate data regulations, something that had been previously overlooked. The trial is going to be relaunched with sensors attached only to shared desks in future, and he hopes that media attention will ensure that no?one is surprised to find 바카라사이트m this time.

Workplace surveillance tends to be unwelcome, particularly among researchers and academics. ��Within 바카라사이트 academic circles, it��s a kind of freedom to do 바카라사이트 work as 바카라사이트y like, and nobody should tell 바카라사이트m how to work, where to work and all that,�� acknowledged Mr Brun.

Staff at Queen Mary University of London have recently raised similar concerns about 바카라사이트 installation of office occupancy sensors, at a cost of ?400,000, noting that anonymous movement capture can easily be traced back to individuals if o바카라사이트r data show that only a handful use a specific space.

Mr Brun said 바카라사이트 resistance was somewhat ironic given 바카라사이트 depth of surveillance and insight available to any IT administrator, based solely on staff internet use.

��If you log into a computer, our IT department can see exactly where you were, who you are, whe바카라사이트r you were actually working, which application you use, which websites you use �C which is much more personal than whe바카라사이트r a workspace is used,�� he said.

ben.upton@ws-2000.com