The ‘Big Brother’ bank: How the CBA uses a sneaky app to monitor how often employees click their mouse and show up at their desks
- Commonwealth Bank posted a profit of $5.15 billion in the second half of 2022
- Bank confirmed it was using a tracking app to track staff
The Commonwealth Bank is cracking down on employees who try to slack off by using a sneaky app that tracks how often they’re physically at their desk – and even how often they click their mouse.
The bank, which made $5.15 billion in profit in the second half of 2022, uses the app “Navigate” to track mouse clicks, movements and how often an employee is at their computer.
The bank also reportedly uses data on office attendance and computer use to question absenteeism, such as scoring early or having a long lunch, and has instructed some employees to take time off if they don’t do enough. The Australian reported.
The financial giant, which confirmed it was collecting data on its employees, said the Navigate app was used to allow staff “to access the building where they work, book meeting rooms and find their colleagues”.
Not all 48,000 employees use the app.
The Commonwealth Bank, which made $5.15 billion in profit in the second half of 2022, is cracking down on its employees. Pictured above is stock image
A spokesman for the Commonwealth Bank said the app had been ‘helpful’ in showing exactly what staff were doing during the day.
“The information we collect has been helpful in ensuring that our people stay in touch about the different ways of working we support at CBA or, for example, to record the right type of leave when our employees take time off or are off” , said a spokesman.
“This has been especially helpful during and after Covid as people have returned to the office, helping us better manage space in our offices.”
The Finance Sector Union, of which many of CBA’s 48,000 employees belong, said the bank’s staff were overworked and underpaid.
The FSU said last month that an investigation it conducted was a “scathing indictment” of how the bank pursued profit at the expense of workers.
“CBA employees are doing more for less – they are dealing with increasing workloads due to rampant understaffing while grappling with increasing cost-of-living pressures,” FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano said. news.com.au.
“Due to insufficient staff, staff are overworked and customers have to wait longer for their banking.”
Commentators online broadly agreed with the CBA’s crackdown on staff working hours.
“I think the CBA has a legitimate oversight tool there. Keep up the good work and get rid of those who don’t get their money’s worth,” someone said.
CBA uses an app called Navigate that tracks mouse clicks and how often a person shows up at their desk, instructing staff to take time off if they don’t do enough. An empty office is depicted
Commonwealth Bank staff (logo pictured) are overworked and customers are waiting longer to do their banking, according to the Finance Sector Union
“As a shareholder, I prefer the CBA to back down. And perhaps the spotlight should also be directed to those managers under whose watch this happened,” said another.
However, a commenter said the bank should also use the information gathered from the app to pay some employees more.
“Honestly, you want your employees to be productive and not pay when they slack off. Pay extra if your employees work overtime,’ they said.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Commonwealth Bank for further clarification, but the spokesperson declined to comment.