Stepping away from work? Cognizant says think again

Co rolled out course for executives on tools like ProHance, doubling down on micro-tracking

- Jas Bardia [e-mail]

Course outlines max interval employees must log mouse, keyboard activity.

(MINT)

Strolling away from workstations could prove costly at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., as the IT services company explores tracking productivity through mouse and keyboard movement.

About a month ago, the company rolled out a course for executives to familiarize them with workforce-management tools such as ProHance, as part of select projects, becoming arguably the latest to double down on micro-tracking employee activities.

The course outlines the maximum interval within which employees must log mouse or keyboard activity, as well as the duration they can remain inactive or away from their systems.

An employee will be marked "idle if no keyboard or mouse activity is detected for more than 300 seconds," according to the course details accessed by Mint.

The system will mark an employee as engaged in "activities away from the system" if her personal computer or laptop remains idle for 15 minutes.

The time span for both these triggers is subject to the discretion of the specific delivery teams.