TikTok Employees Recoil at Return-to-Office Tracker App

Mack DeGeurin
·1 min read
Photo: Martin Meissner (AP)
Photo: Martin Meissner (AP)

TikTok is reportedly deploying a new employee badge monitoring app as part of a renewed effort to pressure its workers to spend more days in the office, according to a recent New York Times report. The attendance app comes as other big players in tech like Meta and Google similarly continue to clamp down on flexible work schedules introduced at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic.

Employees at TikTok told the Times they received notices about the new tool, called MyRTO, which reportedly monitors badge swipes into an office and may ask employees to explain absences on days when they were expected in the office. The staff were reportedly informed that “any deliberate and consistent disregard may result in disciplinary action.” These “deviations” could also impact the workers’ performance reviews which could impede a path to promotion.

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TikTok isn’t alone in its campaign to reel in remote work. Meta’s Head of People sent a memo to staff last month informing them that they could be fired if they repeatedly ran afoul of the company’s requirements for workers to spend three days per week in the office. Apple is also tracking attendance, with some organizations reportedly threatening to terminate workers who fail to comply with the company’s three-day in-person requirement. Google, which once embraced remote and hybrid work, recently said they would consider new remote work requests “by exception only.” Those not already designated as remote workers are now being tracked for attendance as well.

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