You just knew this was going to happen – companies are using technology to monitor remote employees. The Wall Street Journal provides this article that illustrates what approaches are used by employers:
They’re taking photos of workers’ computer screens at random, counting keystrokes and mouse clicks and snapping photos of them at their computers. They’re plying sophisticated technology to instantaneously detect anger, raised voices or children crying in the background on workers’ home-office calls.
That seems quite invasive, but it appears telecommuters are generally willing to trade the invasiveness for the work-at-home option. I’m not certain I would be so eager to allow this type of monitoring into my computer. However, many companies do monitor employees in the office both electronically and directly (manager).
Sales is a bit simpler in that it is easy to know how well a salesperson is performing based on their revenue production. Monitoring could be beneficial in ramping new hires, but success is still easily measured.