Suzie Cheikho: How WFH ruined Insurance Australia Group employee’s life after bosses used keystroke technology to keep track of her work

A WFH employee who was fired after her boss tracked down her computer and realized she was barely doing any work has revealed she now lives off Centrelink and fears she may never find another job.

Suzie Cheikho, 38, told Daily Mail Australia she was no longer employable after being unceremoniously fired from her position at Insurance Australia Group (IAG), where she had worked for 18 years, for ‘not typing enough’.

The Fair Work Commission rejected its unfair dismissal claim in July, and the findings on Tuesday sparked fierce debate over workers’ rights and whether the use of tracking software should be allowed.

“It’s embarrassing that this story has gone viral – no one is going to hire me,” Ms Cheikho said.

“In the 18 years I’ve worked there, I’ve only had one warning,” she said.

The Sydneysider is now surviving thanks to government handouts and received its first Centrelink payment this month.

But the unwanted spotlight has boosted her online profile, and since she was fired, she’s transformed herself into something of a micro-influencer — with over 7,000 followers on TikTok and over 800 on Instagram.

“I make a small percentage of my money from TikTok — just enough to pay my bills,” she said

“It’s all about my mental health, you see – I’m an advocate for the mental health issues I’ve suffered – so I’m raising awareness by talking about it on ‘lives.'” she explained.

During her brief interaction with Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, Ms. Cheikho continued streaming TikTok live videos.

According to the findings of the Fair Work Commission, in November 2022, Ms. Cheikho received a formal warning about her work output and was given a performance improvement plan.

Ms Cheikho (pictured) had her unfair dismissal application rejected by the Fair Work Commission after it emerged that her former employer had dismissed her for ‘valid cause for misconduct’

Suzie Cheikho’s LinkedIn profile photo is tagged “Opentowork”

After missing numerous deadlines and meetings, Ms. Cheikho was absent and unreachable, failing to submit a product statement that led the regulator to fine IAG, the findings said.

Her work then subjected her to a detailed review of her cyber activities, which looked at how often Ms. Cheikho pressed buttons on her keyboard during 49 working days from October to December.

On the days she logged in, she had “very low keystroke activity.” She recorded zero strokes for 117 hours in October, 143 hours in November, and 60 hours in December.

She averaged 54 beats per hour during her surveillance, showing that “she didn’t sign up for work and did the job as required.”

But Ms Cheikho told the committee she was “confused and shocked” by the data and questioned its accuracy.

She added that she sometimes used devices other than her laptop to log in when she had “system problems.”

“Sometimes the workload is a little slow, but I’ve never been out of work,” she told her managers, according to the FWC findings.

“I mean, I might go to the store once in a while, but it’s not all day. I need to take a moment to consider this and I’ll come up with a response.”

According to the findings, Cheikho also attended a performance review with her manager via Teams with the word “F***” written on her hand.

Thomas Roberts, deputy president of the FWC, ruled that the evidence showed that Cheikho was “not working as expected of her during her designated working hours” while being monitored.

Ms. Cheikho’s office is pictured in 2016 before her WFH nightmare began

The applicant was fired for a valid cause of misconduct, Roberts wrote.

“I have no doubt that the factors underlying the applicant’s separation from work were serious and real,” he said.

The situation was “deplorable” given Cheikho’s “long period of satisfactory service,” Roberts added.

In the months since her termination, she has continued to use TikTok to host “live” video content.

Her Linkedin profile states that she is open to work and lists TikTok as her current employer.

She even had a TikTok-themed cake for her recent 38th birthday.