The Notebook: Will workplaces start monitoring your Linkedin profile?

The City’s overdue diversity push, the rise of workplace surveillance and a farewell to Linkedin’s City influencers? Lucy McNulty, editor of Following the Rules podcast, takes the pen for today’s Notebook 

The City’s diversity push is past due 

When regulators floated ideas for boosting diversity and inclusion in the City in late 2023, they generated a buzz of interest. And yet, 10 months on, we’re still waiting for an update on regulators’ final proposals.  

“We really need more clarity from regulators on this soon,” one City veteran told me this week. “Bosses are struggling to make any progress. Nobody is clear on what to do, and by when.”

Certainly, delays to policymaking were expected after this summer’s snap election put a hold on regulatory announcements for several weeks. But political pressure on regulators to prioritise growth and widespread backlash to aspects of the proposals have also stalled watchdogs’ efforts to drive these measures through. 

A key point of contention was a suggestion from the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority that City firms could be forced to disclose various details about their employees, including their age, sexual orientation, ethnicity and religion – a proposal that lawmakers saw as overly prescriptive and finance bosses as unworkable. 

The strength of opposition led FCA chief Nikhil Rathi to tell lawmakers in early 2024 that regulators would not be prioritising this diversity and inclusion push as they needed “to take the time to understand” the reaction to their preliminary ideas.

Of course, it is prudent for regulators to take time to consider the most appropriate next steps. But the need for action remains urgent. A recent study from Reuters found that some of the UK’s biggest financial services companies were paying women an average 28.8 per cent less than their male counterparts, for instance, despite assurances from the same companies that they were striving to increase female representation in senior roles. 

Extensive data-gathering exercises may not be the best first step in addressing finance’s long-standing diversity issues. But that should not dissuade regulators from exploring other avenues to incentivise proper change. As the City veteran says: “The danger is no major changes are made and we’re left with empty talk.”

At the very least, clearer guidance on best practices and undesirable behaviours would be welcome. Watchdogs are expected to publish their final proposals next month. They must not miss the opportunity to enact meaningful change. 

Goodbye to the City’s Linkedin influencers?

Linkedin use has surged in recent years. But its most prolific posters may soon need to find another outlet. Amid a growing regulatory focus on City workers’ misbehaviour outside of their day job, finance firms’ surveillance chiefs are reconsidering a decades-old decision to allow unmonitored Linkedin use at work. 

Emily Wright, the former global head of compliance surveillance for banking giant Standard Chartered, told Following the Rules that those tasked with monitoring finance workers’ conduct increasingly see the network as a blind spot. “Linkedin is the hot topic,” she says, adding that surveillance chiefs could either ban it or seek to monitor its use at work.

Certainly, when LinkedIn was first approved for use by City workers, its content was limited to the occasional, anodyne professional update. Now with posts and messages sent via the platform becoming far more personal, revisiting outdated policies seems sensible. Surveillance expert Brandon Carl of Smarsh says many US firms are already tracking employees’ Linkedin activity with more expected to follow.

But monitoring an employee’s personal network brings myriad privacy concerns. A blanket ban may prove easier for many. 

Compliance bosses and surveillance data

Compliance chiefs are sitting on a goldmine of corporate intel, according to surveillance expert Brandon Carl of Smarsh. And, he says, it’s all thanks to advancements in the surveillance tech they’re using. Under regulatory pressure to keep closer tabs on staff, firms have been ramping up spending on communications surveillance tools. The data generated by such tools can also help firms assess how to improve customer experiences, create safer workplaces and increase revenue opportunities, Carl says. Something to mention at the next performance review perhaps?

What I’m reading 

Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living by Mo Gawdat and Alice Law

If, like me, you typically find the last few months of any year a mad jumble of deadlines, seasonal lurgies and family commitments, this book could be just what you need to see you through to the end of the year with your sanity intact. Co-authored by the self-styled authority on happiness Mo Gawdat and stress-management expert Alice law, Unstressable doesn’t just help you understand what stress is, it also provides practical advice on how to predict and ultimately prevent it. At over 300 pages, this is a book you’ll want to take the time to digest but once you do, you’ll find it can be used as both an accessible handbook on stress management, and a guide to a more balanced life.