The Legal, Ethical, and Managerial Concerns of Employee Monitoring - Report Example

The Legal, Ethical and Managerial Concerns of Employee Monitoring The Legal, Ethical, and Managerial Concerns of Employee Monitoring Advances in technology have made employee monitoring an easier task for organizations. However, it has also brought about several legal, ethical and managerial issues which companies must address to justify the monitoring of its employees. The controversies regarding the issue of employee monitoring will be discussed further in this essay. Before discussing the issues confronting employee monitoring, it is important that the reasons why it is being undertaken by corporations must be identified. There are several reasons why employers would like to monitor their employees. The first reason is for customer and employee safety (McHardy, Giesbrecht, & Brady, 2005). There are numerous dangers present in workplaces such as robberies, violence and other workplace mishaps; thus, employers want to monitor their employees to protect them from such risks. Another reason why employee monitoring is implemented is to safeguard confidential information and trade secrets (McHardy, et al., 2005). There have been recorded cases of companies suffering large financial losses due to theft of proprietary information or computer breaches. Another rationale why organizations want to monitor their employees is due to workplace liability and investigations (McHardy, et al., 2005). There are quite a lot of incidences of racial or sexual harrassment cases being filed; hence, it is in the best interest of both employers and employees that a monitoring system be put in place. A company’s desire to ensure that their employees are performing a good job has increased the need for employee monitoring. Employee productivity is a major concern of any company. Employee monitoring takes many forms. These include psychological and drug testing, searches of employees and their work stations, monitoring of telephone calls, emails, voice mails and computer documents (Mujtaba, n.d.). The reasons cited for employee monitoring are all legitimate; however, those reasons should be weighed against its legitimacy and in the light of the privacy of the employees. The employers have every right to keep track of how their employees use their work hours. But companies must take into consideration several guidelines in the implementation of their monitoring procedures. First of all, employees must understand the reason why they are being monitored because they have rights that must be protected. These rights include the right to his personal possession, meaning his briefcase or handbag and his storage lockers (FindLaw, 2011). The employee has the right to his personally-addressed mail; therefore, it is considered an intrusion to the privacy of the employee if the employer opens a private mail addressed to the employee. Employees have the right to privacy with regards to their telephone conversations and voicemail messages but they have limited rights to their email messages and internet usage because they are using the company’s computer system (FindLaw, 2011). Nevertheless, an “employer can lawfully intercept communications if the employee has consented and where the employee has not consented, but the employer is acting within the scope of the regulations” (Duncan, 2005). Employers however must keep in mind that the monitoring or recording of communications of employees must be within the realms of the business of the company. They must also inform the employees that their communications may be intercepted (Duncan, 2005). Another controversial issue on employee monitoring is when employers do not respect the right of employees to their private and family life. Employers have a very limited right to monitor their employees when they are off-duty unless there is a grave reason to do so. Whatever the employees do after office hours is no longer under the jurisdiction of his employer. With regards to the personal information of employees, employers may be questioned by their employees as to why there is a need to know very personal information about them and where they are going to use the information. Employees’ knowledge and consent are needed before their personal information can be collected, used or disclosed (McHardy, Giesbrecht, & Brady, 2005). The advancement of technology has also brought about concerns related to employee monitoring. Although productivity at work has increased with the efficient use of the internet, some employers view this as a reason to intensify monitoring of employees at work. Employers claim that there has been a rise in cyberloafing during office hours among its employees. Instead of doing their jobs, employees surf the net and go to sites not related to their jobs. This trend has caused employers to see the need for monitoring to make sure that the productivity of their employees is not hampered by such activities. Employees suggest though that monitoring is not the solution to the problem, rather, the company can just block off some sites or instead allow internet surfing at certain hours of the day such as during lunch time. It is important that companies develop policies on monitoring which are both reasonable and selective. Five strategies were suggested by Thomas to ensure that employers will not abuse their rights to monitor their employees; thus, allowing for a positive relationship between the two parties (Thomas, 2005). The first step is to develop a policy which will address monitoring employee communications and educating the employees about it. It should explain that the computer systems are the property of the company; thus, they reserve the right to monitor employee’s communications provided the reasons are business and work related. The policy should describe what are the work-related and personal telephone, e-mail, and Internet use which are permitted. The use of the communication system by employees for personal matters may be allowed provided that it is considered reasonable. Finally, Thomas suggested that if there is any doubt regarding the ethical and legal considerations of monitoring, the employee should be notified and his consent must be obtained (2005). Most employees still frown at monitoring because they feel that it is invasive and it distracts them from their work, often increasing their work stress level. That is why it is important that employers must be guided by the ethical and legal aspects that surround the issue. Companies must be aware and knowledgeable of the state and federal laws that apply to their organization to be sure that they are acting within the bounds of the law. In any form of employee monitoring, what is essential is that restraint is observed. As Mujtaba puts it, “As with most ethical issues, the governing concern should be mutual respect and mutual accountability” (n.d.). Thomas on the other hand summarizes the issues on monitoring by stating that the employer should balance his need for protection as against the employees’ desire for privacy (2005). References Duncan, N. (2005, September 21). Monitoring employees. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from Personnel Today Web site: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2005/09/21/26183/monitoring-employees.html FindLaw. (2011). Employees rights 101. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from findlaw.com: http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee- overview/employment-employee-overview-overview.html McHardy, C., Giesbrecht, T., & Brady, P. (2005, March 11). Workplace monitoring and surveillance. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from mccarthy.ca: http://www.mccarthy.ca/pubs/Monitoring_and_Surveillance.pdf Mujtaba, B. G. (n.d.). Ethical implications of employee monitoring: What leaders should consider. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from huizenga.nova.edu: http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/jame/employeemonitoring.htm Thomas, R. (2005, March 18). Issues to consider when implementing an employee monitoring program. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from TechRepublic Web site: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/issues-to-consider-when-implementing-an- employee-monitoring-program/5615878 Read More