A new feature that can be activated exclusively starting from December will allow Microsoft Teamstaking advantage of the Wi-Fi network to which the app will be associated, to detect the location of employees automatically. In essence, therefore, the application will be able to report whether the worker is in the office or not, carrying out a constant update on his presence status.
According to the previews provided by WinFuture.dethe software will not rely exclusively on the name of the network to understand where the employee actually is, but will exploit a wide range of support parameters thanks to which it will be possible to avoid the risk of the user evading tracking by tampering or changing the name of the network.
The company for its part was keen to specify that this functionality will be deactivated by default and only the IT administrator will have the requirements to enable it, provided that the detection activity is accepted by those directly involved. Officially it is a method to optimize management and cooperation in “hybrid” work systems, where workers are divided between presence and remote collaboration, but the tracking has already sparked a sea of controversy.
What is worrying is the possible violation of users’ privacy, and there are many complaints from those online who say they are alarmed, believing that this functionality risks becoming a means of monitoring employees, thus going beyond the purposes of optimizing and coordinating remote work declared by Microsoft.
The Redmond giant reiterates that the option that can be activated for Teams is absolutely not a method to keep the user under close observation, but rather a system for improving transparency regarding his work activity, however this apparently has not distanced
fears online. The risk that an imbalance will be created between the management of work and the right to one’s own privacy remains strong, and this is what creates perplexity and fuels the debate.