Company sends warning emails to employees who are ‘mouse jiggling’ instead of working, causing employees to look for other ways to avoid work: ‘I hope they are bluffing'

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 11, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

No full-time employee truly works for 8 hours a day. It is actually scientifically proven that most employees get around 3-5 hours of work done in a day, which means that most employees also have around 3-5 hours a day in which they basically do nothing.

For people who work from home, it is supposedly much easier to avoid doing work, because you have no one to physically monitor you while you are meant to be working. This fact has brought on a phenomenon called 'mouse jiggling', which describes employees simply jiggling their computer mouse every few minutes to appear as if they are working, while actually doing something else completely, like watching Netflix or playing with their dog.

Unfortunately, many companies are now aware of this phenomenon and have come up with ways to track employees' activities, even if they are working from home. This way they can detect whether or not their employees are actually working, or simply bluffing their way through the work day…

The company in this story sent an email to everyone stating they know that employees have been mouse jiggling, and they better beware. Scroll down to read the full story and the advice that followed. Up next, click here for a story of an employee who called in sick but still got in trouble.

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  • 01
    clear ثات 8 9 5 6 3
    via Canva
  • 02
    are they bluffing?
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 03
    HR have just sent out an email to the whole company saying that people are "mouse jiggling to manipulate time records" and they will now be
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 04
    "working closely with IT to identify and monitor these individuals" long story short, this is about me (lol) and possibly some others but idk
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 05
    i do all my work in the morning and then have nothing to do, ive asked for more work and they just tell me to read training guides or something
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 06
    i don't have a mouse jiggling script running i just stick a movie on (WFH), open a training guide and scroll every 5 mins or so
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 07
    how are they monitoring me? what do they consider mouse jiggling? how do they know im not actually looking at my screen?
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 08
    WT renchToast1 · 1 day ago It might not be about you or anyone. They might have just read about it online and sent out an empty threat. Maybe they do have someone in mind but it isn't you.
    via u/WT*renchToast1
  • 09
    I would continue to ask for assignments and put on training guides. That's what they told you to do. You are likely not the target.
    via u/WT*renchToast1
  • 10
    Dizzy-Cake591 1 day ago. Mouse juggling is only a control to keep your instant messenger on green and to stop your computer from going to sleep. They should be able to see pretty much
    via u/Dizzy-Cake591
  • 11
    everything you do on your computer, from keystrokes to usage if they have employee monitoring software installed. I'd probably straighten up for a bit until the heat di s down
    via u/Dizzy-Cake591
  • 12
    Nebekenazar · 20 hr. ago If you're that worried, go with a hardware option. Connect your mouse to an oscillating fan with a stick. If you want more "random" movement, add an inch or so of string to the mouse side of the connection.
    via u/Nebekenazar
  • 13
    If they have remote access to your computer, and it sounds like they do, they can check for scripts. As long as you keep your camera covered, they can't do anything about a fan moving your mouse.
    via u/Nebekenazar
  • 14
    illegalcabbage96 OP. 20 hr. ago this is what im questioning, what im doing rn is essentially hardware mouse jiggling just... with my hands and they've found out
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 15
    so what good is a different type of jiggler gonna do? i wouldnt dream of using a script lol and for those thinking im paranoid, we have like 20 employees, trust me, the email is about me hahaha
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 16
    Nebekenazar ⚫ 20 hr. ago In that case, I'm not convinced they have s ton you. They may just be shaking the tree to see what falls, it's something they train supervisors to do.
    via u/Nebekenazar
  • 17
    If you are still concerned, try increasing your scrolling pace to accurately reflect a reading pace. Any drastic changes in behavior will draw attention. Also, save the email where they told you to read manuals in your down time.
    via u/Nebekenazar
  • 18
    chign_ts · 18 hr. ago i think its pretty fair to assume it's not just you, every rat that is enslaved in a cage looks to find a way out, or make the cage more comfortable. even the non technical people ask their friends, kids, etc to find
    via u/chign*ts
  • 19
    some way to do mouse jiggling or the equivalent. i bet you most people in your office, even the always busy ones, don't actually have 40 hours of work to do. at the end of the day it boils down to what is installed on your device. if they have the
    via u/chign*ts
  • 20
    right invasive software, it could send screenshots every few minutes or even every time you click. that being said, who would bother implementing this for only 20 employees?
    via u/chign*ts
  • 21
    if you are meeting expectations, you don't need to overthink things. especially since you aren't running any scripts
    via u/chign*ts
  • 22
    Correct-Mail-1942 · 20 hr. ago I'll bet they're bluffing. I'm an IT Director and we don't use any of that tracking software BUT I have used it before. It's pretty good about knowing what you're doing and can tell the difference between 'work' and 'pretending to work'.
    via u/Correct-Mail-1942
  • 23
    illegalcabbage96 OP 20 hr. ago • i dont think they're bothered enough to use tracking software but they can pull teams stats and i often go from Available to Away at exactly 5 min intervals, you reckon this is what they're pulling?
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 24
    jonr 23 hr. ago USA work culture will never stop to amuse/terrify me
    via u/jonr
  • 25
    illegalcabbage96 OP 23 hr. ago surprisingly (or perhaps not) this is the UK, we seem to be tilting towards US work culture pretty quickly
    via u/illegalcabbage96
  • 26
    fennel1312 15 hr. ago • TIL white collar people do even less real work than I thought. No offense. Signed, a body broken from manual labor.
    via u/fennel1312
  • 27
    illegalcabbage96 OP 6 hr. ago you're absolutely right, i did 5 years as a nurse and noped out before my back broke, weirdly the best and worst thing i ever did
    via u/illegalcabbage96

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