In a work-from-home and hybrid world, many employees look for ways to cut corners and make it look like they’re at their computers even when they’re not actually attentive to the work at hand.
Such was the case for more than a dozen Wells Fargo wealth and investment management workers, who were caught and subsequently fired last month for faking keyboard strokes on their computers to make it look like they were working when they weren’t.
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“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior,” Wells Fargo told Bloomberg in a statement.
Per termination disclosures filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the reason given for the employees’ terminations was that they were “discharged after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work.”
It was not specified how they faked the keyboard strokes or if the employees did so while in the office.
Some remote workers use devices called “mouse jigglers” to simulate movement on a computer’s keyboard, indicating to employers and managers that they’re using their device even if they are away from it at the time.
Wells Fargo currently operates under a hybrid model in which the majority of employees are expected to be in the office at least three times a week, though workers at different levels (such as management) are expected to be in four or more days.
The bank’s policy is relatively more lax than others in the industry, such as Goldman Sachs, which mandated a five-days-a-week return to the office for employees at the end of last summer.