Big Brother's Corporate Cousin

Winston must log on to the computerized phone system at Charles Schwab brokerage firm no later than seven minutes after 8, or she'll be harassed by a supervisor, called a "team lead." Once her computer is up and running, a message appears announcing yesterday's "productivity scores" in the form of a list ranking the performance of all thirty technicians at Schwab's tech-support call center from best to worst. Arranged in clusters of cubicles, the technicians work beneath a series of huge, elevated computer screens that display each person's name and a minute-by-minute productivity ranking.

"You look up and see who's cleared the most calls, who's done the least, whose phone is 'engaged,' whose is 'idle.' It brings out the worst. You want to win. And everyone just works constantly," says Winston, who prefers not to use her real name.

Such is life on the new shop floor, where surveillance and constant psychological pressure to work harder are increasingly common. According to the American Management Association, 80 percent of US corporations keep their employees under regular surveillance, and that percentage is growing all the time. From the low-tech body and bag searches at retail stores, to computerized ordering pads at restaurants and the silent monitoring of e-mail and phone traffic in offices, the American workplace is becoming ever more transparent to employers and oppressive for employees.

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