The third largest bank in the United States, Wells Fargo, recently fired a dozen employees after claims that they were faking keyboard activity to pretend to the firm into thinking they were working. The bank recently disclosed the decisions in broker filings with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, as per the BBC.
According to News.com.au, the "flexibility" policy at Wells Fargo permits workers to "work from home on some days and at the office on others. It remains unclear if the dismissed individuals worked in the office or from home. The fired employees worked in the bank's wealth and investment management unit.
Notably, a majority of Wells Fargo's staff members, including those in customer-facing positions, were requested to report back to work in early 2022 under a hybrid flexible model.
According to the firings that were initially reported by Bloomberg, the company said that over a dozen employees had been let go. A spokesman for the company said, "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behaviour." The bank said in the filings that the staff had resigned or been fired "after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work".
This comes as employers are growing wary of remote workers who pose as employees by using a low-tech ruse. Several multinational corporations have been using highly advanced technological tools to monitor employees after remote work began during the Covid-19 pandemic. These services can record which websites are viewed, take screenshots, and monitor keystrokes and eye movements.
However, technology has also advanced to avoid surveillance. For example, easily accessible devices known as "mouse jigglers" are designed to give the impression that computers are in use.
