As companies continue to try to get workers to return to the office in some form or another, they are resorting to so-called "bossware" technologies to monitor compliance with return-to-office mandates, Business Insider reported.

EY anonymously surveyed 500 U.S. C-suite and business leaders across multiple industries this fall for its third annual Future Workplace Index. Only 1 percent of them reported having a policy of full-time remote work, defined as less than one day in the office per month, compared to 34 percent last year.

That could account for companies' use of workplace surveillance tools. In response to the question, "How are you currently collecting data to maximize and optimize your office space?," the most popular methods mentioned by the respondents were WiFi (51 percent); badge swipes, in and out (47 percent); artificial intelligence (AI) technology (44 percent); and digital cameras (35 percent). Less popular tools were people-counting sensors, presence detection sensors, and Internet of Things (IoT) foot traffic sensors (24 percent each).

"The various data collection and tracking measures are important components of the people, process, and technology ecosystem that informs return-to-office analysis, as well as ongoing workplace planning and optimization," said Francisco Acoba, co-lead of EY's Corporate Real Estate Consulting and Technology practice, in a statement. "Understanding how, when, and why people are using the office is critical to the development of informed hybrid workplace strategies and an enhanced workplace experience."