This article is a continuation of a story the Jest has been following. To start at the beginning, click here.
Teleworking employees at Lindsfield and Tyler have had a challenging October. Last month they were required to wear virtual reality headsets to recreate their old cubicles. Now, their manager, Greg Harrington, has taken it a step further.
Last week Harrington made every employee sign a statement swearing that they would cancel all of their streaming subscriptions. The statement also forbid them from watching any streaming shows on someone else’s account.
In addition, it required employees to allow Harrington to use spyware to access their personal phones and computers–just to see if/when they accessed a streaming service.
Management or Tyranny?
“It’s beyond the pale,” said James Kent, a technical support analyst. “I hated the way he micromanaged everyone, but now he’s telling us what we can and can’t do in our personal time?”
But Harrington stands by the decision. “When you work from home you can’t separate your personal life from your work. No one is forcing them to work here. That’s the beauty of free markets.”
“He’s a tyrant,” said Jason Collins, who was fired last week for watching Netflix on the company’s internet during lunch. “He proudly states that we should be miserable. He just can’t stand it that we’re working from home.”
Indeed, Harrington has said that happy employees are less productive. He refers to the philosophy as productive work psychology, a term which does not exist in psychiatry.
Obsessive Management
Employees also say there is no evidence that streaming is affecting productivity.
“We are in helmets all day long that mimic our cubicles. How are we even watching TV with that? Also, business has gone down by 50% since the pandemic happened, but he is attributing all of that to streaming. It’s insane.”
James Kent
Amanda Sellers, a data entry clerk, was also fired after Harrington caught her lying about her Netflix subscription:
“I never took it seriously. I signed the paper but never canceled any services because it was such a ridiculous request.”
When she turned the form back into HR she didn’t think anything else of it. She says she will never forget what happened next.
Home Visits
Two days later Harrington visited Sellers’ home, claiming he needed to give her some paperwork. She claims it was nothing that could not have been e-mailed.
The former employee says her ten year-old daughter, Beth, answered the door. Sellers was on a company call in another room at that time. According to her, Harrington used the wait time to ask Beth what they watched on TV. He then convinced the girl to show him what was on television, and soon he discovered a fully active Netflix subscription.
Sellers described what happened when she entered her living room.
“At first I was so nervous because I felt like I’d been caught. But then I started to think about it and I just got angry. He had come to my house and used my daughter to spy on me. He was in my living room scrolling through our Netflix account. I’d never seen his face so red.”
According to Sellers, the two argued for several minutes, after which she broke down into tears. Harrington then fired her on the spot.
“He said I could watch as much Netflix as I wanted now, then he stormed out of my house,” she said.
Full Review
Two other employees reported that Harrington had randomly dropped by their homes in recent days, supposedly to see how they were doing.
“At first I thought maybe I’d been wrong about him, you know,” said Kent. “Maybe he was tough but also cared. But then he asked for a glass of water, and while I was in the kitchen I could see him trying to turn on my TV. I talked to Amanda afterward and realized what he was doing.”
Sellers says her family is struggling financially now but she still prefers being jobless over working for Harrington.
Harrington did not return a request for comment, but the company’s owner did say he is reviewing the manager’s conduct and would take appropriate action if necessary.
A copy of Harrington’s memo is available below:
