AT&T eases back on employee tracking amid RTO backlash
TEXAS, UNITED STATES — AT&T is reducing its use of a controversial employee-tracking system designed to enforce its strict return-to-office (RTO) policy.
Business Insider reports that the move follows internal criticism that the monitoring tool is inaccurate and has severely damaged trust, prompting a strategic shift in how the telecom provider measures workplace presence.
Human cost of workplace surveillance at AT&T
The primary driver behind AT&T’s policy reversal is the significant internal backlash against its “presence report” system. Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Kellyn Kenny acknowledged the impact of this tool in a meeting.
“I now understand the level of anxiety that this report has created,” Kenny said. “I also now understand how the fact that it is inaccurate is driving people to the brink of frustration, and it’s creating distrust.”
This disclosure followed an employee survey that found a root cause of anxiety, with about half of the surveyed employees in her unit stating that policies and systems at AT&T were not enabling them to deliver their best.
The tracking system’s inaccuracies compounded employee frustration. Workers reported that the tool, which uses badge swipes, laptop connections, and mobile location data, was often wrong by several hours.
This eroded morale and led to concerns that erroneous data could make them targets in the company’s ongoing workforce reduction efforts.
AT&T’s new strategy on office attendance
AT&T’s leadership claims the aggressive tracking successfully identified what Kellyn Kenny termed “freeloaders”—employees who abused the system by badging in for very short periods. With that specific goal met, the company is now deemphasizing the daily use of the reports.
This suggests a transition from a punitive, micromanagement approach to a more analytical one, as outlined by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Stankey, who emphasized analyzing “patterns of behaviors from broad cohorts” rather than individual surveillance.
“Some may view this approach as a matter of trust, and that perspective is understandable. In several forums, I’ve expressed concerns that past data indicated more outliers than we’d like,” Stankey explains.
The broader corporate trend of strict RTO enforcement, however, carries risks that AT&T may now be seeking to mitigate. As seen at other firms, such as Amazon, heavy-handed policies can hinder recruitment, particularly for top talent in competitive fields like AI, and can demotivate high performers.
AT&T workers noted that the mandate has shifted attitudes, with some now strictly working only their tracked eight hours, indicating that the policy may be achieving compliance at the expense of discretionary effort and long-term trust.
