Remote Worker Says She Was Spied On By Her Boss On Her Webcam & Reprimanded For Leaving Her Desk To Cook

A remote job has many benefits including flexibility, no commute, and a fair work-life balance. Since the pandemic, remote working has gained popularity according to research from Stanford University, about half of the U.S. workforce works remotely.

However, if you are one of those people who work remotely, you may want to cover your computer camera. One woman is warning her fellow virtual colleagues to do exactly this after her boss secretly recorded her without her knowledge. 

The remote worker was reprimanded after her employers caught her on camera leaving her work desk to cook in the kitchen. 

Michae Jay, who worked for Klarna, a Swedish fintech company that provides online financial services including payments for online storefronts, direct payments, and post-purchase payments. 

One day while at work, Michae left her desk to cook herself some food, initially not thinking anything of it. However, when she returned to her desk, she was surprised to find that her access to her work account had been locked. That’s when she discovered footage of herself from just moments earlier. 

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In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 600,000 times, Michae recorded her computer screen depicting the footage. “These people just locked my computer,” she says, as the footage of herself standing in front of her refrigerator plays on her screen. Below it are the words “NOT AT DESK: Action applied. Please get approval from supervisor to retry.”

“They locked my computer because I was in the kitchen cooking!” Michae exclaims. “This is why they don’t want us working from home.” 

Other TikTok users were horrified that the employee had been recorded while she was not at her desk without her awareness. “Am I the only one who feels like this is an invasion of privacy???” one user pointed out. “What job is this lol need to make sure I don’t apply,” another user commented. “As an HR/Talent Acquisition, this is not okay. Sis, I hope you find yourself a company that trusts its employees and treats them better than this!” another user shared.

Other users encouraged Michae to cover her camera with tape. However, she explained in a follow-up video that this was unfortunately not an option for her. “I am not allowed to cover my camera,” she explains. “If it was up to me, I wouldn’t even have the camera plugged in. 

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She claims that her company takes pictures of employees at their desks throughout the day to monitor their progress. If employees are not at their desks during certain times, their access to their work accounts gets locked. 

Michae shares that she is not the other employee at her company that this has happened to and asks other TikTokers to comment on any other remote jobs that were hiring since she was “sick” of her own. 

In another follow-up video, Michae revealed that her company has a high-turnover rate due to their micromanagement of their employees, but this was not the only “red flag” her job consisted of. 

“They don’t tell you until you get the job that your pay varies,” she adds. The company often adjusts employees’ hours and their paychecks. Michae says that the only reason that she took the job was because she “really needed it” at the time she was hired. 

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Some employers report monitoring their remote employees on cameras throughout the day. 

Believe it or not, employers are legally allowed to collect or monitor anything they want on work-owned devices they provide their employees with. They can obtain data from keyboards, webcams, mouses, the websites employees browse, and even emails if it is stated on your employment agreement.

Many companies also require their remote workers to have their cameras on during work hours to monitor their activity. According to a survey from ResumeBuilder.com, 37% of employers require their employees to appear on a live video feed if they are not in an office. Although only 5% report keeping track of these video feeds all day long. 

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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.