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Employees Caught Using “Mouse Movers” to Fake Productivity

By Laura Tucker
Employees Caught With Mouse Movers Featured

The pandemic brought out a new breed of workers, with new methods to fake work. Some employees were caught and promptly fired, after trying to fool their bosses into thinking they were working by using “mouse movers.”

Fighting to Stay Remote

“Mouse-mover” technology works by subtly moving the cursor on your computer screen, thereby creating the illusion that you are actively using your computer, even when you are not. This can be done with devices and apps.

This trickery isn’t new, but it’s causing a new problem. Managers and team leaders to rethink their strategies and find new ways to accurately measure productivity in the remote working era.

Workers Caught With Mouse Movers Untouched Mouse
Image source: Unsplash

With the pandemic under control, some employees have remained remote, sometimes to the chagrin of their superiors at work. They would rather have people filling up the expensive office buildings that have been built, while employees are content in their living rooms, with more freedom and less time spent commuting.

Sometimes events cause you to miss a little time at work, and you don’t want your boss to know, as it gives them reason to send you back to working in the office. Crafty employees are using the mouse movers to make it appear that they are still hard at work.

Caught in (Non-) Action

More than a dozen Wells Fargo employees were just fired for this very behavior. Disclosures were filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, showing that these employees were fired after it was determined through an investigation that they were using mouse movers to make it seem like they were actively working.

Employees Caught With Mouse Movers Faking Work
Image source: Unsplash

What was not acknowledged was whether these employees were remote and working from home, or whether they were faking their productivity while sitting at their desks in the office building. All that’s known is that they were using mouse mover devices and apps.

The type of investigation isn’t known, either. Some bosses use software to monitor devices to see what employees are doing. It can be similar to parental controls on your child’s device. These tools can be used both in the office and remotely, and some can determine if you’re using a mouse mover.

With the landscape of work appearing to be altered forever after the pandemic, companies and employees alike will need to navigate these new challenges and find a balance between productivity, privacy, and trust. Check out these job search sites for remote work if you just can’t face going back into the office and online tools that will help you work together with your team remotely.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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