10 Business
10 Business February 2 2022 | World and Press How your employer can keep track of your work at home WORKING FROM HOME Monitoring software products allow employers to track and collect data on workers’ devices without users’ knowledge. By Don Lee 1 SINCE THEpandemic and the rise in people working from home, employers’ use of employee-monitoring programs has been growing rapidly. Employers say they’re tracking workers’ activity mainly for two reasons: to promote security and to boost productivity. What monitoring tools they use and how aggressively they use them vary widely. But the practice has alarmed unions and privacy advocates. 2 Makers of monitoring software report booming sales, and their products run the gamut in terms of surveillance capabilities. One common feature is that they allow employers to track and collect data on workers’ devices without users’ knowledge. That may put employers on a slippery slope as far as privacy and trust issues are concerned. But in a sampling of employee-monitoring software programs, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation found that nine out of the ten products it reviewed could be made invisible to the people being monitored. 3 Because the monitoring software is installed on company computers, employees who object may have limited options beyond complaining or finding another job. Even if workers use their personal devices, their employer could still legally track their activity if they’re using company email accounts, networks, or servers. Here are some ways companies are monitoring workers at home: 4 Tracking work time on the computer: Clocking you in and out may be the most basic function, logging your hours worked, times idle, and other gaps in the workday. Employers say it can | Photo: Pixabay help identify overwork or burnout if employees are spending too much time at their desks. Conversely, a time-tracking system may prompt you when your computer has been inactive for a period, and if you don’t respond, it will automatically log you off, which could affect your pay at some companies. 5 Logging keystrokes: Also called keylogging, this tool can let administrators know not only how many keystrokes are typed, but everything that’s actually typed, even deleted letters and words. Covert keylogging is one way hackers can gain access to passwords and other personal information. For bosses, snooping on every keystroke an employee performs can get pretty boring pretty fast, but it may be useful in detecting those who spend a lot of time chatting and not doing work. 6 Monitoring websites, apps, and emails: Are you looking at websites that have nothing to do with work? Do you have a game running in the background or are you actually playing it? How much time are you spending on social media? Monitoring internet activity is a common feature of most monitoring software, although there are varying degrees of access that an employer may have. Some may be interested only in knowing how much time you spent on instant messaging; others may want to know what you were talking about. 7 Grabbing screenshots from the computer: It’s a standard feature: capturing snapshots of what users have up on their screens at any moment or at set intervals. Managers can even create a slideshow that provides a summary of an employee’s workday in images. … 8 Activating webcams: This may be the most invasive way of keeping tabs on workers, whether viewed live or by recording video or sounds. Electronic Frontier Foundation found that only two of the ten programs it reviewed offered this feature. And some monitoring software suppliers say it’s a step too far. … © 2021 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Special World and Press: Black Lives Matter Themenheft, DIN A4 ¤ 16,90 [D] ISBN 978-3-7961-1077-1 B2 – C2 www.sprachzeitungen.de 0 – 1 TO KEEP TRACK of s.th. etw. im Auge behalten — monitoring software “"mÅnIt´rIN‘ Überwachungssoftware; s.w.u. to monitor überwachen — to track verfolgen — device Gerät — to promote stärken — to boost steigern — to vary variieren — widely stark — union Gewerkschaft — privacy advocate “"œdv´k´t‘ Datenschützer(in) 2 to run the gamut of s.th. “"gœm´t‘ das gesamte Spektrum von etw. abdecken — in terms of hinsichtlich — surveillance capabilities “s‰…"veIl´ns; ÆkeIp´"bIl´tiz‘ Überwachungsfunktionen — to put s.o. on a slippery slope für jdn. zunehmend Probleme mit s. bringen — as far as … is concerned was … angeht — sampling Auswahl — digital rights group Organisation für digitale Rechte — to review begutachten 3 – 6 to object “´b"dZekt‘ Einwände erheben — to clock in/out den Arbeitsbeginn/das Arbeitsende registrieren — to log protokollieren — times idle untätige Phasen — overwork Überarbeitung — conversely “k´n"v‰…sli‘ umgekehrt — keystroke Tastenanschlag — covert “"k´Uv‰…t‘ versteckt — to snoop on s.th. etw. ausspionieren — to detect ermitteln 7 – 8 to grab screenshots Bildschirmfotos machen — to capture a snapshot “"kœptS´‘ e-n Schnappschuss machen — summary Zus.fassung — invasive “In"veIsIv‘ in die Privatsphäre eindringend — to keep tabs on s.o. jdn. im Auge behalten Dress to impress and you’ll be mugged, bankers warned DRESS CODE By Alistair Dawber 1 WALL STREETbankers are being told to dress down for work as violent crime surges in New York. Amid fears that high-earning staff could become the target of muggers and other criminals, bosses at Bank of America have reportedly told junior employees to wear less expensive clothing and ensure that they avoid carrying anything with the bank’s logo. 2 The New York Police Department has reported a 15 per cent increase in assaults in the 28 days to November 28, compared with the same period last year. 3 The order to wear brown in town from Bank of America ex- ecutives comes as financial highflyers take matters into their own hands. One money manager recently told CNBC’s ‘On the Money’ programme that he had started to carry a Taser when leaving the office. Bank of America has not commented, but other big banks such as Citibank have begun offering staff shuttle services so they can avoid public transport. 4 A Wall Street banker told the programme: “Some people I work with have been accosted ... I’d say it’s | Photo: Hunters Race/ Unsplash becoming frequent, if not common. There’s probably a dozen incidents that I saw, or have been involved in.” Many leading financial institutions have demanded that staff return to the office after months of working from home because of coronavirus. 5 There is hope on Wall Street that New York’s incoming mayor, Eric Adams, a former police officer, will be tough on law and order. “I’m encouraged that Eric Adams will take a hard line,” one executive told CNBC. “But it’s almost like he can’t get here soon enough to restore law and order.” © The Times, London/News Licensing This article originally appeared in The Times, London. 0 – 2 TO MUG S.O.jdn. ausrauben — to dress down s. leger kleiden — violent crime “"vaI´l´nt‘ Gewaltverbrechen — to surge “s‰…dZ‘ stark ansteigen — amid angesichts — mugger Straßenräuber(in) — reportedly angeblich — to ensure “In"SO…‘ sicherstellen — assault “´"sO…lt‘ Überfall 3 – 5 to wear brown in town (fig) leger gekleidet zur Arbeit kommen — executive “Ig"zekj´tIv‘ Manager(in) — financial high-flyer Banker(in) — money manager Vermögensverwalter(in) — public transport ÖPNV — to accost s.o. “´"kÅst‘ jdn. belästigen — financial institution Finanzinstitut — incoming designiert — law and order Recht und Ordnung — to take a hard line e-e harte Linie verfolgen — to restore wiederherstellen
World and Press | February 2 2022 Business 11 Avocado glut leaves Australian farmers crushed FOOD PRICES The normally expensive brunch favorite is so cheap that growers are feeding it to pigs. By Michael E. Miller 1 ON A RECENTmorning, Tim Kemp slid open the door of the refrigerated storeroom on his family farm near Sydney and removed nine tons of avocados. A few years ago, the giant bins of green fruit would have been worth almost ,000. Today, Kemp expects a fifth as much. “We are basically selling avocados for less than the cost of production,” he said. 2 Welcome to the great Australian “avo” glut. In the land that allegedly invented avocado toast, the superfood is suddenly super cheap. A combination of increased supply and reduced demand – slashed by months-long lockdowns that shuttered cafes in Sydney and Melbourne – has sent the supermarket price of an avocado plummeting to about 60 cents. 3 As Australia reopens and consumers salivate at the prospect of a hot avo-toast summer, farmers that were flush a few years ago are now feeling crushed. Some are dumping the formerly expensive fruit any way they can, including turning them into cooking oil or running them over with tractors. “It’s a perfect storm of low prices,” Kemp said. “This has been coming for five or six years. I just didn’t expect it to hit us as hard as it has. It’s really smashed us.” 4 The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on commodity prices around the world. But unlike the supply chain disruptions that have led to shortages of shipping containers and champagne, among other things, Australia’s avocado issue is primarily a homegrown problem. Avocado grower Tim Kemp on his farm near Sydney. | Photos: Michael E. Miller/The Washington Post 5 Long before avo toast became obligatory on American brunch menus, it was big in Australia, where newspapers mentioned it as far back as 1929, and a Sydney cafe began serving it in the early 1990s. As demand soared in the past decade – sparking a debate over millennial spending habits – Australian avocado production more than doubled. 6 This year production has risen by 65%, according to John Tyas, the CEO of Avocados Australia, an industry group. The boom is partly due to ideal growing conditions after years of drought, he said. But it’s also a result of tens of thousands of avocado trees – planted three or four years ago when prices were high – now beginning to bear fruit. A recent increase in avocado imports has only added more guac to the pile. 7 Just as growers were starting to pick this year’s record crop, coronavirus lockdowns in the country’s two most populous states took a bite out of demand. 8 The pain was initially felt on the farms of northern Queensland, where the orchards ripen first. Alan Poggioli is normally able to sell his small or blemished avocados for use as guacamole paste. But this year, the market was too flooded with fruit. So, for the first time, Poggioli took 10 to 20 tons of avocados to the back of the farm and dumped them. “We just ran over them with some tractors,” he said. … 9 Ian Tolson, an avocado grower and packer in Stuarts Point, New South Wales, said he had sent away a lot of lower-end fruit this year to be turned into oil. Still, he estimated he had dumped a few hundred tons of Picking avocados. fruit on a corner of his farm for composting. “Australia is going to have a lot of avocados in the coming years,” he said, as more trees reach maturity. 10 Many small farmers blame Big Avocado, especially international corporations, for flooding the market. Izzy Adar, a northern New South Wales grower who claims that his grandfather was the first to bring avocado farming to Israel, said he could survive a few years of low prices. But a longer glut would force small farmers like him out of business. 11 “It’s just Capitalism 101,” countered Trevor Bendotti, a secondgeneration avocado grower in Western Australia. “Avocados in the last five years have had some of the best returns on production costs out of any commodity ever,” he said, adding that growers would now need to become more efficient to weather lower prices. “For the ones who’ve been milking this, who rode this canoe, that ride is no longer so smooth.” 12 Kemp, whose farm sits on a slight plateau an hour north of Sydney, agreed. His father started growing the fruit in the 1980s, when Kemp was a kid, at the suggestion of someone from the Department of Agriculture. “My dad said, ‘What the hell are avocados?’” Kemp joked. The farm now has 3,000 avocado trees, about half of its orchards. … 13 Kemp said he had resisted the temptation to expand rapidly when prices were high. Now he was using the glut to prune or pull up less-fruitful trees ahead of schedule. By next year, he would be down to 2,000 avocado trees, but they would be healthier and more productive. “The idea,” he said, “is to farm fewer, better.” © 2021 The Washington Post zusatzmaterial Im Abo PREMIUM 20% günstiger! www.sprachzeitungen.de 0 – 2 GLUT Schwemme; Überangebot — crushed zerdrückt; h.: niedergeschmettert — to slide open aufschieben — refrigerated storeroom “rI"frIdZ´reItId‘ Kühlraum — basically im Grunde genommen — allegedly “´"ledZIdli‘ angeblich — supply Angebot — demand Nachfrage — to slash drastisch reduzieren — to shutter schließen — to plummet “"plømIt‘ abstürzen 3 – 4 to reopen wiedereröffnen — s.o. salivates at s.th. “"sœlIveIts‘ etw. lässt jdm. das Wasser im Mund zus.laufen — prospect “"--‘ Aussicht — to be flush (fig) gute Einnahmen verzeichnen — to dump entsorgen — cooking oil Speiseöl — to smash zerstören — to wreak havoc on s.th. “"hœv´k‘ s. verheerend auf etw. auswirken — commodity prices “k´"mÅd´ti‘ Rohstoffpreise — supply chain disruptions Unterbrechungen in der Lieferkette — shortage “"SO…tIdZ‘ Knappheit — homegrown selbst gemacht 5 – 6 obligatory “´"blIg´t´ri‘ verpflichtend; unerlässlich — to soar “sO…‘ sprunghaft ansteigen — to spark entfachen — spending habits Ausgabeverhalten — CEO = chief executive officer Chef(in) — industry group Branchenverband — growing conditions Wuchsbedingungen — drought “draUt‘ Dürre — guac (coll) Guacamole 7 – 8 growers Anbauer; Erzeuger — crop Ernte — populous “"pÅpj´l´s‘ bevölkerungsreich — to take a bite out of s.th. (fig) etw. reduzieren — initially “I"nIS´li‘ zunächst — orchard “"O…tS´d‘ h.: Avocado-Plantage — to ripen “"raIp´n‘ reifen — blemished verunstaltet — flooded überschwemmt 9 – 11 lower-end minderwertig — to reach maturity “m´"tjU´r´ti‘ zur Reife kommen; h.: Früchte tragen — Big Avocado große Avocado-Produzenten — corporation Konzern — Capitalism 101 Einmaleins des Kapitalismus — to counter entgegnen — return Rendite — to weather überstehen — to milk s.th. etw. ausschöpfen — … who rode this canoe “k´"nu…‘ (fig) … die auf der Welle mitgeschwommen sind — smooth sanft 12 – 13 plateau “"plœt´U‘ Hochebene — Department of Agriculture “"œgrIkøltS´‘ Landwirtschaftsministerium — to resist temptation der Versuchung widerstehen — to prune “pru…n‘ zurückschneiden — less-fruitful weniger ertragreich — ahead of schedule “"Sedju…l‘ früher als vorgesehen
