With office use in Europe bouncing back to roughly 70% of pre-pandemic levels, businesses are reassessing their approach to bringing employees back to the office. This has prompted increased investment in technologies that enable collaboration, drive operational efficiency and align with sustainability targets.
However, a more contentious trend is gaining ground: the use of surveillance-driven monitoring tools. Introduced under the banner of improving productivity, such tools include everything from keystroke tracking to access badge data. Yet rather than driving performance, surveillance tools risk undermining trust.
Deployed without clear communication, they can foster a culture of mistrust, widen rifts between teams and mark a move away from collaboration to control. So, what is the right approach to bringing and importantly, encouraging, people back into the office? The answer lies not only in the tools selected, but in how they are applied, and whether they serve to empower staff or monitor them.
Transparency and technology must go hand in hand
Concerns around workplace surveillance are growing, fuelled by high-profile news stories and cultural narratives like the hit TV show Severance, which reflect deeper anxieties around employer control. In many cases, this concern stems less from the tools themselves and more from a lack of clarity. Too often, new systems are introduced with little explanation, creating space for suspicion and fear.
That said, there are some instances where the tools themselves are genuinely intrusive. Keyloggers, webcam monitoring and continuous screen recordings may offer data on employee activity, but they come at the cost of morale and trust – the very things needed to encourage people back into the office.
Workplace technology doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be about control over employees. When implemented transparently and with wellbeing in mind, it can enhance the employee experience. Consider thermal occupancy sensors: while they are technically a form of ‘monitoring’, they do so simply to adjust heating, lighting and cleaning schedules based on real-time data. The result is operational efficiency without invading employee privacy.
The difference lies not only in what the tech does, but how it’s framed. Even non-invasive tools can create tension if employees feel they are being kept in the dark. Open dialogue is essential. Employees should understand how new systems work, what data is collected and how it’s used.
The right technology puts people first
The right tools should remove friction, not add it. They should support employees to do their jobs better, without dictating how, when or where they work. Yet, nearly half of European employees feel their companies are failing to implement tools that genuinely support them.
Used thoughtfully, tech can eliminate repetitive admin, reduce scheduling headaches and improve access to shared resources. AI-powered transcription can eliminate note-taking and free people to focus in meetings. Smart collaboration tools can bridge the gap between remote and in-person colleagues, while automated desk or room booking systems can help employees navigate hybrid setups with ease.
One helpful feature is ghost-booking detection, which automatically frees up unused meeting rooms, eliminating one of the most frustrating aspects of hybrid working. In the same spirit, live office busyness dashboards can help employees choose where to work or hold meetings, based on occupancy in real time.
None of these tools are about surveillance. They’re about streamlining work and making the day-to-day more seamless. The goal should be to create environments where technology recedes into the background, supporting work without interfering in it – which is how you create an office people want to be in.
Smarter spaces, driven by data
Tech is only one piece of the “return to office” (RTO) puzzle. Office design remains crucial, but increasingly, physical design relies on digital technology.
Sensor data can reveal how spaces are actually used, including whether meeting rooms sit idle, which areas are overbooked and where foot traffic concentrates throughout the day. With these insights, companies can avoid expensive guesswork and reconfigure layouts to better reflect employee behaviour.
For instance, underused executive wings can be converted into team lounges, breakout zones or cafe seating. Congested zones can be eased through layout changes, while low-traffic areas can be repurposed into quiet focus spaces. Smart redesign isn’t just about cost savings. It’s about making the workplace more usable and more human.
For employees, these changes translate to tangible improvements. Real-time occupancy data helps teams find open rooms quickly. Air quality monitoring can trigger ventilation in stuffy areas. These aren’t just operational tweaks, but daily quality-of-life improvements that show employees the workplace was designed with their wellbeing – not surveillance – in mind.
A new era for office culture
Returning to the office isn’t just a logistical challenge – it’s a cultural reset. Companies that lead with transparency, empathy and employee-first design are more likely to engage their workforce.
When tech is used to improve the workplace experience, rather than monitor it, the office becomes somewhere people want to be, not just somewhere they’re told to go.
Nathan Thomas
Nathan Thomas is Director of Innovation at Ricoh Europe.
