The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Workplace systems can monitor, score, schedule and direct employees in ways that affect privacy, autonomy, stress and even access to work. But the available evidence does not show that CEOs generally use AI with the intent to “terrorize” employees. It documents a range of tools, reported benefits and real concerns—not proof of a shared motive among executives.
For workers, the practical question is what a system collects and how its output affects their time, pay, workload or job. It also matters whether a person is accountable when the system gets something wrong.
What does “AI at work” mean here?
Three related terms help separate the systems often grouped together as “bossware.” They overlap, but they are not interchangeable:
- AI systems use artificial intelligence. The International Labour Organization’s 2026 account discusses AI in workplace planning, monitoring and performance management.
- Algorithmic management automates or supports managerial tasks, such as assigning work or evaluating performance. The OECD cautions that these systems vary in sophistication and are not necessarily AI-powered.
- Digital surveillance includes tools such as cameras, monitoring software, location tracking, apps and wearables. Some may use AI or feed into algorithmic management; others may not.
Calling every workplace camera or productivity tracker “AI” overstates what is known about a particular system. The key questions are what it does, what data it uses and what consequences follow from its output.
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What can these tools do to an employee’s work?
The OECD groups algorithmic-management functions into instruction, monitoring and evaluation. The distinction matters because a system that assigns a shift is not collecting or using information in the same way as one that tracks location or ranks workers.
| Function | Examples described by the OECD | Why it matters to a worker |
|---|---|---|
| Instruction | Assigning tasks or setting schedules | Can shape what work is done and when. |
| Monitoring | Tracking task completion, time, speed, communications, location, fatigue or health | Determines what information about work—or a worker—is collected and assessed. |
| Evaluation | Setting targets, rewarding or sanctioning performance, or maintaining leaderboards | Can connect system assessments to targets, rewards or penalties. |
These examples come from the OECD’s December 2025 publication on algorithmic management. The precise effect depends on the employer’s system and how its output is used; the categories alone do not establish that a tool changes pay or imposes a sanction.
How widespread is workplace algorithmic management?
In a 2025 employer survey of more than 6,000 mid-level managers in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States, the OECD found that 90% of surveyed U.S. firms had adopted at least one algorithmic-management tool. Average adoption was 79% across France, Germany, Italy and Spain, and 40% in Japan.
These are findings about firms in the surveyed countries under the OECD’s broad definition of algorithmic management—not a global estimate of AI surveillance or the share of employees personally monitored. The figures should not be combined into a single worldwide rate. The OECD also found that nearly two-thirds of managers who used such tools reported at least one concern. Their most common concern was unclear accountability when a decision was wrong, followed by difficulty understanding system logic and inadequate protection of worker health. See the OECD survey and analysis for its definitions and country findings.
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What does the evidence say about worker effects?
The evidence describes possible benefits alongside risks; it does not show that every surveillance tool causes the same result. The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s 2024 report reviewed 217 public comments from 211 stakeholders, submitted to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy between May and June 2023. Those comments included claims that monitoring could improve security or help prevent illness, as well as concerns about stress, anxiety, depression, fear, morale, privacy and bias. The comments represent stakeholder perspectives, not a representative survey of all workers. GAO describes examples across trucking, warehousing, office work and health care in its report, Digital Surveillance of Workers: Tools, Uses, and Stakeholder Perspectives.
GAO’s later review examined 122 studies published from 2020 through 2024 and assessed their methodological rigor. It found that surveillance may help identify potential health problems, but productivity pressure can also raise injury risk when workers are pushed to move faster. Its report considers physical health and safety, mental health and employment opportunities, and notes limitations in the underlying studies. It therefore supports neither a claim that all monitoring harms workers nor a claim that monitoring is harmless. Read GAO’s 2025 report on digital surveillance, reissued with revisions in December 2025, for the review’s scope and findings.
A separate International Labour Organization and European Commission Joint Research Centre study examined logistics and health-care workplaces in Italy, France, India and South Africa. It identified efficiency benefits alongside potential deterioration in job quality and intrusive surveillance. Those findings are specific to the sectors and locations studied, not a universal description of every workplace. The study is available as Algorithmic Management Practices in Regular Workplaces.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does this show that CEOs intend to terrorize employees?
No. The cited reports examine workplace tools, practices, risks and reported impacts; they do not establish a general intention among CEOs to terrorize workers or prove the motive of any particular executive. “Terrorize” is a pointed characterization, not a conclusion supported by these findings.
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The ILO’s 30 April 2026 news account of a working paper says: “The paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI), which functions in ways profoundly different from traditional management, is reshaping the psychosocial work environment and highlights emerging risks to workers’ mental and social well-being.” That institutional statement describes risks and the subject of the paper, not proof of executive intent. The account discusses surveillance, work intensification, reduced autonomy, and privacy or data-use concerns; see the ILO’s summary of the working paper.
What should workers examine when a system affects their job?
For personal finances, a monitoring or management system matters most when its decisions affect the timing or availability of work, targets, rewards, sanctions or access to a job. Before treating a system’s score or alert as a final judgment, try to establish how it is being used and who can review it.
- Identify the function: Is the system assigning work, monitoring activity or evaluating performance?
- Ask what data it uses: Does it track task completion or work time, or also location, communications, health or other personal information?
- Find the consequence: Does an output inform a manager, or can it affect targets, rewards, sanctions, scheduling, pay or access to work?
- Check accountability: Is there a human decision-maker who can explain or correct an error? This is especially relevant given the accountability concerns reported by managers in the OECD survey.
- Keep a record of concrete effects: If a system’s output appears to change your schedule, workload or pay, retain relevant notices and records so you can describe what happened accurately when seeking advice.
Rights and remedies depend on the country, the specific workplace and the situation. The sources cited here cover multiple countries and do not provide one universal legal answer. The National Employment Law Project’s 2025 report, When ‘Bossware’ Manages Workers, presents an advocacy organization’s policy agenda on surveillance and automated decision systems; it should be read as that organization’s analysis and recommendations, not as a government finding or a substitute for jurisdiction-specific legal information.
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