Listen to this interesting article! Man Fired for Keeping Webcam Off Awarded $73,000 A remote worker who was fired for refusing to keep his camera on while working has been awarded about $73,000 by a Dutch court. The man, whose name was not made public, had been working for the US software company Chetu in the Netherlands since 2019. On August 23, 2022, while working remotely, he was told by his employer that he should keep his webcam on all day for online training. The employee said he didn't feel comfortable being monitored on camera for nine hours, and refused to do so. He added that the company could already see all activities on his laptop and that he was also sharing his screen. But Chetu said that having a camera on was no different from being watched in an office. And the company fired him. Finding this unfair, the man took the company to court in the Netherlands. He told the court that he hadn't been given clear enough reasons for being fired, and that asking him to keep his camera on for the whole workday was against his right to privacy. And the court agreed. Chetu now must pay the man about $73,000. While using a webcam to check on employees may not be very common, computer programs that monitor employee activity have become popular. A survey from 2021 found that 60% of US companies with remote workers were using employee monitoring software, and 81% of those companies found that their workers were more productive while being monitored.