Suzie Cheikho lost her job after her employer monitored her work activity using keystroke technology.
The former Insurance Australia Group (IAG) employee, who worked at the company for 18 years, was dismissed in February 2023. She later attempted to file an unfair dismissal claim, but the case was ruled against her.
In August of last year, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in Australia upheld IAG’s decision, citing a “valid reason of misconduct.” The commission found that Cheikho had missed deadlines, failed to attend meetings, was difficult to contact, and had even caused the company to incur a fine due to incomplete tasks. She had previously received a warning in November 2022.
How the Company Tracked Her Productivity
To assess her work activity, IAG monitored her keystroke data over 49 days between October and December 2022. The results were not in her favor:
She started late on 47 out of 49 monitored days.
Finished early on 29 days.
Also she no work at all on four days.
On days she was active, her keyboard activity was minimal, averaging just 54 keystrokes per hour.
Following the widespread attention her case received, Cheikho spoke to MailOnline about her concerns for future job prospects.
“It’s embarrassing that this story has gone viral—nobody is going to hire me,” she said. “In 18 years of work there, I only ever got one warning.”
She also questioned the accuracy of the keystroke tracking data, insisting that she had “never not worked.”
Facing Online Harassment
Since her dismissal became public, Cheikho claimed she has been subjected to harassment.
In a now-deleted TikTok video, she expressed her frustration:
“This has never happened to me before, and for what? It’s something very emotional and private; I never talked about it on social media.”
She also revealed the extent of the backlash:
“I’m literally getting harassed through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok. What do you want me to do? I can’t get a f**king job.”
