Company Forces Employees to Clock In With Selfie, Sparks Debate
A business is under fire for requiring its employees clock into work by taking a selfie.
TikTok user Gemma Dixon, a.k.a @gemd_pt, went viral by posting a video of her clocking into her job by taking a selfie via a program that employs facial recognition technology.
“When the clock-in machine makes you take a selfie [at] 7 am,” she wrote in a text overlay on the clip, which shows her pressing a "start shift" button before the program takes her photo.
Watch below:
"I know Deputy when I see it lmfaooo," one user commented on the video, referring to Australian workforce management technology company Deputechnologies, also called Deputy.
Deputy's website tagline reads: "Your time clock app for accurate payroll and healthy teams." Its website also states that employees can start shifts via touch-free facial recognition to ensure they remain "symptom-free," presumably from COVID-19. The company also claims its technology increases payroll accuracy.
Viewed by over 3.5 million people as of publishing, the majority of comments on the video criticize the company's decision to request selfies from its employees upon clocking in for work.
"Damn it’s like a work BeReal," one person commented, referencing the French app that takes photos of its users at random times each day.
"Instead of BeReal it’s BeDepressed ... talk about kicking a man whilst he’s down," another user added.
"The way mine would be me giving the finger every day. This is both the smartest and worst thing a company could do..." someone else commented.
"The way I would quit so fast ... what is asking for a photo achieving?" another user questioned.
One person, however, offered a different perspective: "Being a manager and seeing the Deputy clock in/out pictures at end of the week is THE BEST."