October 24, 2025
Just when you thought corporate surveillance couldn't get any more blatant, Microsoft is here to prove you wrong. Starting this December, they're rolling out a "feature" in Teams that automatically rats you out to your boss by updating your location based on which Wi-Fi network you’re connected to. If you’re not on the office Wi-Fi, your location will make it perfectly clear.
Microsoft is trying to sell this as a tool for "collaboration," helping colleagues find each other in large offices. Let’s be real: this is corporate doublespeak for a digital leash. Its true purpose is to give micromanagers an easy way to enforce their ridiculous return-to-office mandates. It’s not about finding Bob in accounting; it’s about making sure your butt is in a specific chair for a set number of hours.
Now, they’ll tell you it’s "opt-in" for both the admin and the user, as if that offers any real protection. This is the oldest trick in the book. It creates a system where not opting in is seen as an act of defiance. How long until managers start "strongly encouraging" everyone to enable it for the sake of "team transparency"? It's a choice in the same way that "optional" weekend work is a choice—technically true, but professionally suicidal to refuse.
This isn't an isolated feature; it's part of a disturbing trend toward automated workplace surveillance. It erodes trust and treats employees like children who can't be trusted to do their work without constant monitoring. We already have status indicators, calendars, and instant messaging. This adds nothing of value for the employee, only for the manager who doesn’t trust their team.
Call it what it is: a tool for micromanagers built on the assumption that employees are always trying to get away with something. Welcome to the future of work, where your location is just another metric for your boss to track.