Australian woman sacked for ‘seriously underperforming’ while working from home fears she’s now ‘unemployable’ after story went viral when boss tracked her work
With statistics highlighting that 47% of people working from home (WFH) are more productive, according to a 2021 report from Owl Labs, may have come as a shock to one worker, after she was sacked by bosses for her lack of productivity.
Suzie Cheikho, who worked for Insurance Australia Group, was dismissed after bosses used keystroke technology via her laptop to assess how much she had been typing during her WFH shifts. When her concerned bosses soon confirmed she was ‘not typing enough’ during office hours, she was asked to leave the company after 18 years.
Now living off Centrelink – which delivers income support and other payments to Australians – and barely covering her bills, Cheiko fears she may now be ‘unemployable’ after her story went viral when the tardy employee had her unfair dismissal claim dismissed. “It’s embarrassing that this story has gone viral – nobody is going to hire me,’ said Cheikho. “In 18 years of work there I only ever got one warning.”
Read more: ‘I took DNA test for a laugh – and accidentally uncovered my mum’s devious past’
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US .
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) rejected her unfair dismissal claim in July, with the findings sparking furious debate about workers’ rights and whether the use of tracking software should be allowed.
According to findings from the FWC, she received a formal warning in November 2022 about her work output and was put on a performance improvement plan. After she missed numerous deadlines and meetings and was absent and uncontactable, a detailed review of her cyber activity took place, assessing how many times she pressed buttons on her keyboard during 49 working days, from October through to December.
On the days she did log on, she had ‘very low keystroke activity’ with the findings showing ‘she was not presenting for work and performing work as required’. This resulted in Cheikho telling the commission she was ‘confused and shocked’ at the data, questioning its accuracy and highlighting she sometimes used other devices than her laptop to log in when she had ‘system issues’.
According to the FWC findings, she told her managers: “Sometimes the workload is a bit slow, but I have never not worked. I mean, I may go to the shops from time to time, but that is not for the entire day.”
After being dismissed for misconduct, she has used her unwanted publicity to help boost her social media presence, becoming a ‘micro influencer’ with more than 19,000 followers on TikTok, making a small amount of money on the video sharing platform that is enough to cover her bills.
