Why Mouse Jigglers Are a Symptom of a Broken Trust in the Workplace

Does your employer trust you? Sure, they have a flexible hybrid working policy. You might be grateful that your manager allows you to work from home to complete essential tasks without being distracted or only coming into the office for important meetings. But at what cost?

The days of leaving the day job behind at 5pm are long gone. Many workers are expected to be online around the clock and ready to respond to that critical email late at night. There has also been a rise in workplace surveillance tools that monitor every keystroke and mouse movement, and the inconspicuous laptop webcam could be watching your every move.

Many workers are fighting productivity paranoia with tools such as mouse jigglers to keep bosses off their backs. But as trust begins to break down between employers and employees, what does this mean for the future of WFH?

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. The Rise of Employee Monitoring Tools in the Workplace
3. What Are Mouse Jigglers?
4. What Are the Different Types of Mouse Jigglers?
5. Wells Fargo's Firing of Mouse Jigglers and the Future of Work
6. The Bottom Line
7. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. The Rise of Employee Monitoring Tools in the Workplace
3. What Are Mouse Jigglers?
Show Full Guide
4. What Are the Different Types of Mouse Jigglers?
5. Wells Fargo's Firing of Mouse Jigglers and the Future of Work
6. The Bottom Line
7. References

The Rise of Employee Monitoring Tools in the Workplace

Four years have passed since Microsoft was forced to scale back its big plans for its ill-fated productivity score tool. The Office 365 feature promised to score employees based on metrics such as the number of emails they sent and the video meetings they attended. But a predictable backlash quickly followed.

The problem with workplace surveillance tools is that human ingenuity will always find a way to game the system. Five years ago, Reddit users shared MacGyver-like innovation to work around tools monitoring their mouse movements. These primitive methods would pave the way for mouse jigglers.

WFH Tip #2 : How to always appear online
byu/tuestcretin infunny

What Are Mouse Jigglers?

Many businesses have replaced return-to-office mandates with monitoring software. The problem with workplace surveillance tools is that they assume productivity only occurs when typing on a keyboard or moving a mouse. But sometimes, you might need to upload a large file or watch a compliance training video, and you don’t want your boss to get the wrong impression that you are sitting in idle status or inactive mode.

A mouse jiggler moves the cursor on your screen every few seconds to give the illusion you are working. It also lets you sneak in a few chores or take a post-lunch power nap. Some brazen productivity dodgers have been known to take their jigglers to the skies and have started a new trend called quiet vacationing, where digital nomads work from another country — with or without permission.

What Are the Different Types of Mouse Jigglers?

There are typically two different types of mouse jigglers. The first can be a software-based app, and the other involves purchasing physical hardware. Downloading any app or mouse mover software is a risky move for any employee. Although they allow users to simulate mouse movements and sometimes even keystrokes on their machines, it’s relatively easy for any IT team to monitor every application installed and actively in use.

The more technically minded shirker will be fully aware that detecting a mouse jigger becomes much more difficult if no software is installed and no devices are active in the Windows device manager. For these reasons alone, a hardware mouse jiggler that plugs into external power sources was destined to become a game changer for slackers.

Wells Fargo’s Firing of Mouse Jigglers and the Future of Work

The cat-and-mouse game between bosses and their distributed teams has urged employers to be more proactive when dealing with skiving staff. As employee monitoring software becomes more sophisticated, it has become much easier for IT to track how long users are active or idle and even take random screenshots or even video screenscasts of the desktop so bosses can identify discrepancies.

When this data is combined with heavy usage of unproductive websites and continuous activity without any breaks, it becomes much easier for bosses to regain an advantage.

Recent news suggests the jiggle might be up for those using the infamous WFH trick. In June, Wells Fargo fired over a dozen employees for allegedly using mouse jigglers after productivity paranoia escalated across the US bank.

The company said: “Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior.”

Wells Fargo recently fired dozens of wealth management employees for using mouse jigglers to “simulate keyboard activity” while working remotely.

Just went on Amazon to check mouse jigglers and have a strong feeling that this 1-star review is from one of those employees. pic.twitter.com/OHUo6xihR7

— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) June 15, 2024

The move caused many online to debate the breakdown in trust, with calls from employees to be judged on their productivity and meeting deadlines rather than keyboard strokes. After all, good managers should be able to tell if work is getting done without monitoring mouse movement.

Gartner predicts that the number of employers using monitoring tools will rise by 70% within the next three years. However, some organizations are already drifting into creepy territory by experimenting with attentiveness tools that track eye movements, facial expressions, and tone of voice to ensure workers are attentive during video calls.

The idea that staff must always be online, available around the clock, and constantly tracked is beginning to wear employees down. For example, almost half of US workers would take a pay cut to avoid being tracked by their boss.

The Bottom Line

With workplace surveillance tools pitted against mouse-jiggling rebellious workarounds of their staff, the lack of trust between employers and employees is widening. As companies continue to invest in monitoring technologies, they must balance productivity concerns with preserving employee autonomy — and especially trust. Otherwise, they risk losing top talent, who may prioritize workplace culture and trust over compensation and traditional employment stability.

Instead of looking over your staff’s digital shoulder, employees turning to mouse jigglers could be a cry for help and a warning sign that something is wrong with your culture. If you can’t manage what you can’t measure, it’s time to stop trying to measure the useless metric of being busy for busy’s sake and get back to measuring things that matter, like clear deliverables.