Who is Suzie Cheikho and what are her notable achievements?
Suzie Cheikho is a former consultant at Insurance Group IAG who was dismissed in February 2023 after the company monitored her keystroke activity while working from home, which revealed very low typing levels.
The Fair Work Commission ruled that IAG's decision to terminate Cheikho was valid due to suspicions of misconduct related to her workplace performance, which had been a concern for some time.
During her employment, Cheikho had worked for IAG for 18 years, indicating a long-standing commitment to the company prior to her dismissal.
Cheikho’s keystroke data showed an average of just 54 strokes per hour, which when compared to typical benchmarks suggests significant underperformance.
Keystroke monitoring technology, which was used by IAG, captures the amount of typing activity on a computer and is often used as a productivity tool in remote work settings.
The case underscores broader discussions about surveillance in remote work environments, raising questions about employee privacy and the extent to which employers can monitor work performance.
Cheikho reported feeling "targeted" by her employer, illuminating potential issues related to workplace dynamics, particularly in how employee performance is interpreted through data.
She was warned by her company to improve her performance after consistently missing deadlines, added another layer to her case for perceived unfair treatment.
The dismissal received significant media attention, highlighting the growing trend of remote work and its implications for employees and employers alike in the age of technology.
IAG’s use of technology to monitor employee performance reflects a shift in workplace practices, where digital tools increasingly govern employee accountability and productivity assessment.
The incident has sparked debates about the ethics of using keystroke data as a measure of employee engagement and productivity, blending organizational psychology with technology.
Cheikho’s situation can be analyzed through the lens of human factors engineering, which examines how people interact with systems and technology in their work environments.
Some experts suggest that without qualitative measures to assess employee performance, relying solely on quantitative data can lead to misleading conclusions about a worker’s contributions.
The issue extends to the concept of presenteeism, where the physical or digital presence of an employee isn’t necessarily indicative of actual productivity or engagement level.
Cheikho mentioned that her online presence became a means for her to financially recover post-dismissal, illustrating how individuals can leverage social media for economic opportunities in the gig economy.
Employers are increasingly employing artificial intelligence to assess productivity, but this raises ethical questions about labor rights, privacy, and fairness in the work environment.
The legal framework surrounding work-from-home monitoring is still evolving, making cases like Cheikho’s pivotal in establishing future workplace policies and regulations.
Cheikho's case highlights the tension between technological advancements in workplace monitoring and the human attributes of trust, autonomy, and job satisfaction.