TikTok’s office surveillance could backfire and cost it billions

TikTok recently introduced a badge-monitoring app for its employees called MyRTO — “my return to the office” — aimed at enforcing its office attendance policy as part of a top-down mandate. According to the New York Times, this app tracks employees’ badge swipes and can even penalize them for “deviations” from their expected attendance.

While many companies are trying to recalibrate post-pandemic work expectations, TikTok’s approach not only raises serious ethical issues but also amplifies broader concerns about its surveillance culture.

The broad policy for TikTok employees involves coming to the office in person at least three times per week. A smaller percentage is even required to be there in person five days per week. The MyRTO tool may demand explanations for absences when employees are expected to be on-site.

The data compiled by MyRTO is shared with human resources and is also made visible to the employees themselves. Notably, the company has even threatened termination for employees whose home addresses do not align with their designated office locations. The policy aims to create “transparency and clarity” about return-to-office expectations, according to a TikTok spokesperson.

The Harvard Business Review has found that such close monitoring can have unintended consequences. The researchers conducted a survey of over 100 U.S.-based professionals — some under workplace surveillance and some not. The findings indicated a pronounced trend: employees under scrutiny were notably more prone to unauthorized break-taking, insubordination, willful property damage, stealing, and purposefully working at a slow pace, among other rule-breaking behaviors.

Other surveys reveal negative employee attitudes toward surveillance technology. A survey of 500 IT managers and 500 non-manager IT workers, for example, finds that 73 percent of IT managers said they wouldn’t feel comfortable instructing their staff to deploy productivity surveillance tech. More than a quarter of IT managers indicate an uptick in employees quitting (28 percent) and difficulty hiring new employees (27 percent) when these tools are in use. In turn, a report from Morning Consult of a survey of 750 technology workers finds that at least half of tech workers said they would not accept a new role in their field if their prospective company were to use a surveillance technique.

Thus, the tech workers at TikTok are highly likely to become disengaged, demotivated, and disillusioned by the MyRTO surveillance technology. It will lead to increased attrition and loss of productivity.

Perhaps even more problematic is the own-goal of doubling down on the association of TikTok with surveillance. The social media platform has been subjected to legislative grillings in Capitol Hill sessions and dangled on the precipice of national bans — largely due to apprehensions around surveillance concerns and its alleged affiliations with the Chinese government. As such, the company is already navigating a precarious PR landscape, making it particularly vulnerable to any additional reputational tarnishes.

The introduction of the MyRTO initiative exacerbates this fragile situation. Far beyond the physical badges, the program serves as a symbolic embodiment of a corporate culture that leans toward Orwellian control mechanisms over fostering an atmosphere of mutual trust and individual autonomy. The narrative now being constructed — whether intentionally or inadvertently — is one where TikTok is willing to sacrifice the organic relationships between management and workforce on the altar of hyper-surveillance and omnipresent oversight.

House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers couldn’t have articulated it more clearly. She encapsulated the escalating dilemma by stating, “TikTok has repeatedly chosen the path for more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation.”

This comment, coming from a key political figure, amplifies the company’s predicament, giving it a sense of urgency and gravity that transcends standard corporate missteps.

Moreover, in our contemporary climate, where viral information can be disseminated globally within seconds, a PR misadventure of this magnitude carries exponential risks. It’s not merely a matter of immediate negative press; the long-term ripple effects can permeate stakeholder trust, impact user growth, and even invite further regulatory scrutiny. The imbued perception of a dystopian corporate environment can be a latent liability, hindering future partnerships and tarnishing the brand in ways that are complex and multifaceted, yet cumulatively catastrophic.

While TikTok claims it has invested $1.5 billion in ensuring that user data is secure and confined to U.S. soil, actions speak louder than words. The surveillance measures essentially throw gasoline on an already raging fire of mistrust and skepticism. They make it increasingly difficult for TikTok to argue against the narrative that it’s a tool for “control, surveillance, and manipulation.”

As businesses pivot to new modes of work, those that embrace transparency, employee autonomy, and ethical conduct will find themselves leading the pack. This is what I tell client companies whose flexible work models I help fashion. Companies caught in a time warp, clinging to surveillance and control, will likely find the path ahead much more challenging.

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky serves as the CEO of the hybrid work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts and authored the best-seller Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams.