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JP Morgan has developed a powerful data collection tool called WADU to monitor employees.
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Employees at America’s largest bank are concerned about how data collection will affect their jobs.
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One staffer described a workplace where terms like “Big Brother” and “1984” have become commonplace.
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in May 2022. Updated May 2023 to reflect the bank’s latest return-to-office policy.
Employees say surveillance is everywhere at JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon in April ordered the company’s highest-ranking managing directors to return to the office five days a week so they could “see on the ground.” All other employees were also ordered to return to the office at least three days a week or to “take corrective action.” According to a copy of the memo obtained by an insider,.
For those wondering how banks know which employees are in need of “corrective action,” see here. A report published by Insider last year About Bank’s Powerful Surveillance Technology. Swipe for ID badge Time spent on Zoom calls.
“You’ll hear the term ‘Big Brother’ among a lot of people, and you’ll also hear the term ‘1984,’” a U.S.-based employee told Insider at the time. He spoke while referring to dystopian novels.
“It fostered paranoia, fostered mistrust, and, to be honest, fostered a lot of disrespect,” the person said. “There’s a lot of feeling around Chase that we’re just numbers. That’s what we are all about.”
Introduction of WADU
According to this insider report from May 2022, one of the bank’s most powerful data-gathering tools is called the “Workplace Activity Data Utility” (or “WADU” for short), which JP Morgan used to track the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. It was built just before.
How WADU operates is a bit of a mystery, even to bank insiders. Still, by speaking with more than half a dozen current and former bankers, the insider revealed what WADU is tracking and who it’s tracking, and the results of its findings to JP Morgan executives. We were able to gather details such as how we were informing the
Read Insider’s full story to learn more about how JPMorgan Chase’s WADU system works and what kind of data it tracks about its employees. here.
At the time of press release, a JP Morgan official told the insider that the information WADU collects is intended to enhance “operational efficiency, resilience, and workplace health and safety” and that it “may not be used for any purpose.” You can’t do that,” he said, pointing to language on the bank’s intranet. “other purposes” (such as “employment measures”).
However, employees are largely unaware of such disclosures, and in fact bankers are using the data collected by their systems. Threat of employment measures. Employees were not authorized to speak to reporters, so they were granted anonymity to discuss how WADU works and how it affects internal staff.
The employees also described some of the unusual tactics they employed to evade system detection, such as downloading Mouse Jiggler to prevent the bank’s virtual workspace from automatically timing out due to inactivity. bottom.
Another employee in the company’s commercial banking division said she and a colleague had used forums such as the iMessage app to discuss sensitive work-related topics, despite violating the bank’s rules governing compliant communications. said they were talking.
“They are becoming more like governments than employers,” the official said.
Are you a JPMorgan Chase employee? Please contact these reporters. Reed Alexander can be reached at [email protected] or via the encrypted app Signal/SMS (561) 247-5758. Emmalyse Brownstein can be reached at [email protected] or Signal/SMS at (305) 857-5516.
read the original article business insider
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