INTRODUCTION
Today’s technology has made it easier to track what an employee does throughout the day. Organizations utilize employee monitoring to keep track of what an employee does or any unauthorized use of technical equipment provided. Employee monitoring “is the use of various methods of workplace surveillance to gather information about the activities and locations of staff members.” (Rouse, 2014) This method of surveillance can be beneficial for organizations but it also causes a concern for employees’ privacy. What actions crosses the line when conducting employee monitoring?
EMPLOYEE MONITORING AND THE EMPLOYER Employee monitoring can become controversial between the employer and the employee. Employers are concerned with legal problems, leaked information and a decline in productivity with excessive internet use outside of work requirements. Employers are also concerned with malware threats, loss of trade secrets, data breaches, and financial theft with personal web use at work. (Melnick, 2014) Employee monitoring can provide a buffer and protection against these issues faced by numerous organizations. The employer argues that increased misuse of organizational technological equipment such as laptops, desktops and smart phones has made it easier for hackers and malware to infiltrate and obtain information crucial to the organization. Personal use of the internet has increased this, employers believe monitoring their employees’ internet use can aide in the prevention of loss of data. An employer can argue that they also have the right to monitor employees’ web use to prevent a decline in productivity. If an employee is found using the internet for personal or recreational time, this will cause production to slow down which can ultimately cost an organization billions of dollars in liability cost.
PRIVACY CONCERNS Some argue that employee