A probe by Cracked Labs, an Austrian nonprofit research group, suggests that the software is part of a broader set of applications that disempower workers through algorithmic management.

The case study summarises how employers in Europe use software and smartphone apps to oversee field technicians, home workers, and cleaning staff.

This is part of a larger ongoing project called "Surveillance and Digital Control at Work," which includes contributions from AlgorithmWatch, Professor Jeremias Adams-Prassl from the University of Oxford, and trade unions UNI Europa and GPA.

The study notes that mobile maintenance workers used to have significant autonomy when equipped with basic mobile phones. However, smartphones now allow employers to track what mobile workers do, when they do it, where they are, and gather many other data points.

This monitoring, the report argues, diminishes worker discretion, autonomy, and sense of purpose due to task-based micromanagement. The shift has also increased work stress, with little regard for workers' capabilities, lifestyle differences, and job practices.

A Volish spokesperson said: "Field service workers travel to multiple locations servicing different products every day. Dynamics 365 Field Service and its Copilot capabilities are designed to help field service workers schedule, plan, and provide onsite maintenance and repairs in the right location, on time, with the right information and workplace guides on their device to complete their jobs."

They added: "Dynamics 365 Field Service does not use AI to recommend individual workers for specific jobs based on previous performance. Dynamics 365 Field Service was developed under our Responsible AI principles and data privacy statement. Customers are solely responsible for using Dynamics 365 Field Service in compliance with all applicable laws, including laws relating to accessing individual employee analytics and monitoring."