I just read a very scary WSJ article about all the ways in which large US companies are spying on their employees – from their first email sent from bed in the morning to the new business contact added on the way home.

Employers are using the resulting data collected in many ways including spotting problem employees and monitoring which teams are the most productive. But it goes further. One of the newest frontiers is dissecting phone calls and conference room conversations.

Apparently, these employers are under little, if any obligation, to share their tactics or gathered information with their employees and there is almost nothing that the employees can do about it.

I was forced to agree with one comment in the response thread following the article – i.e. ‘that no employee should expect any privacy at work’. The operative word here is expect –  for any employee would clearly be foolish to believe the situation to be other than it is. But I can’t help but think that employers are shooting themselves in the proverbial foot here because ‘trust’ (or lack thereof) cuts both ways. Traditionally, those companies who have profited most have tried hard to ensure employees at all levels work toward a common goal and share common values. I am pretty up to date on The Harvard Business Review and this seems to be the line that most articles there continue to take. But in light of this WSJ article, the academically inspired ‘advice’ from the creme de la creme is seemingly ignored, perhaps because more than corporate profitability is at stake.

I can only imagine that when Pluto hits Aquarius in 2023 and the proverbial ‘shit’ hits the fan in regards to technology and how it is being used, that it will be the employers who will end up with brown goo on their faces.

Pluto roots out all that is wrong in society in regards to the zodiac sign in which it traverses, concentrating on that which is dark, secretive, taboo, and purposefully hidden. With moralistic, idealistic (black and white) Aquarius, it’s all about doing the ‘right thing’ and I’m guessing that when the whole truth oozes out about the degree of spying and the uses made of it, employee loyalty of any kind will truly be a thing of the past.

If in doubt how this works, consider what happened when in 2008, when Pluto entered Capricorn, the sign associated with business, banking, and government.