Employee Privacy Rights: Is there Privacy in the Workplace?
"Big Brother is Watching You," is a phrase taken from the 1984 written novel by George Orwell in 1949. This concept, once believed to be farfetched, may be even truer today then Orwell could have imagined. Given the rate at which technology is improving, the privacy of employees may soon become wishful thinking. Employee privacy rights are being compromised by the advanced technology involving computers, telephones, and video surveillance that is being used in the workplace today.
Employers have the ability to monitor everything done on their computers from personal emails to work related tasks. Employers can use computer software that enable them to see what is on the screen or what is stored in the employee's terminals and hard disks. Some of the software that companies use to monitor their employees are Surf Control and Xora.
A manager wondered about a workers drop-off in productivity, using Surf Control the manager noticed that the employee was using an inordinate amount of time at a certain website. It turned out to feature hard core porn. The man was conducting research for his escort service, soon after the employee got canned. (Dell & Kullen, 2006, p. 1)
What you do at work is your boss's business. Employers can even tell how many key strokes per minute an employee types. If you aren't doing your job your boss will find out. If you don't feel comfortable showing your mom the site you're looking at it's probably not appropriate for work.
Email is a common method of communication between employees in and out of the workplace. Employees view email as private property and should be able to exercise their freedom of s ...