Should we be allowed privacy while at work? I believe this is one of the most prevalent ethical questions asked today because we generally assume we are entitled to privacy while we are at work. Thus we tend to forget the fact that the company is supplying us with all the equipment that we are using so the company has a reasonable expectation of privacy as well as us while we use their assets. When we are using the company’s network, phone or laptop/desktop then we are utilizing company resources so there is no entitlement to 100% privacy even if it is something we are doing outside of our normal job. Employee monitoring has become the standard for most if not all corporations today in a wide range of occupations. In order to manage the …show more content…
This monitoring also discourages the employee from using the internet for non-business related activities. (Bidgoli, 2014, p. 63).
Does this employee monitoring present an ethical issue? In general, the right to privacy in the workplace is conditioned upon a “reasonable expectation of privacy, which is determined by surrounding circumstances or a reasonable person’s view”. (Determann, 2011 p.981). So how do we determine what is reasonable and what we are entitled to as an employee? Generally, the company uses the definition of privacy to dictate what we should be entitled to but they also use the laws surrounding Intellectual Property (IP) as well to help them achieve a balance between privacy and non-privacy issues. Privacy is defined as, “the quality or state of being apart from company or observations; freedom from unauthorized intrusion”. Intellectual Property is defined as, “a form of intangible property that comes from the creative endeavors of the mind”. So with these two in mind we have to understand
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The company’s IT department is responsible for processing, evaluating and responding to any requests for the review of these items from the company to insure that they are not violating the rights of others within the company or the employee themselves by sending out information that should otherwise be protected because it is confidential or company property in some form. Most companies provide annual training and acknowledgement by the employee to validate that they agree to the terms & conditions before they can proceed in using company assets. This protects the company against inside attacks by malicious employees or those seeking financial gain from the use of company information. Generally the pop-up warnings, emails sent out to the employees and threat of legal action for violating policies or privacy prevent most employees from even attempting to do these things. These warnings as well as policy/privacy statements also help address any ethical concerns. (Riedy, M. K., & Wen, J. H., 2010, p.
In Fitbit for Bosses written by Lynn Stuart Parramore she talks about how bosses want to start monitoring their employees. Parramore shows her discomfort with this idea. She thinks that “big money seems poised to trump privacy”(Parramore). Which basically just means that for bosses is that money is over everything even privacy. Allowing bosses to monitor their employees is dishonest and manipulating.Some researchers have also found out that increasing surveillance has caused the decrease of productivity. Researchers warned them that the data can have big errors and people that look at the data that the fitbits can cherry-pick the information that supports their beliefs and ditch the rest of the information that leads to racial profiling. “Surveillance makes everyone seem suspicious, creating perceptions and expectations of dishonesty.” Workers will become dehumanized“(Parramore), it prevents them from experimenting and exercising the creativity on the job.” A woman from California filed a suit against her former employer because he forced her to to install a tracking app on her phone. She had to have it on her phone 24/7 or else she would
For many years, there has been an ongoing fight between employers and employees pertaining to employee rights. The main thing that they have fought about is computer and email monitoring.
In an age where instant access to information has influenced the privacy workplace model, which once prevails over what were inalienable assumptions of privacy is no longer a certainty in the workplace. Some companies require employees to sign confidentiality agreement to protect their patents, formulas, and processes. There are instances where companies dictate a “no compete” clause in their hiring practices, to prevent an employee from working for competitors for typically two years without legal implications. While these examples represent extents, employers go to protect their company’s privacy; companies do not go to that extent to protect the privacy of their employees.
Privacy is an incredibly elusive concept, partly because no one can agree on what constitutes an invasion of privacy. One famous publication in the 1890 edition of the Harvard Law Review defines privacy as “...the right to be let alone” (Warren). While this suffices for a cursory look at the definition of privacy, a closer look reveals that it is still very vague (the latter portion of the journal reiterates this). Specifically, it does not address breach of privacy, a concept that is still disagreed upon today. There are many different interpretations as to what constitutes an invasion of privacy.
Terms and Laws have gradually change overtime dealing with different situations and economic troubles in the world in general. So then dealing with these issues the workplace has become more complex with little or no rights to privacy. Privacy briefly explained is a person’s right to choose whether or not to withhold information they feel is dear to them. If this something will not hurt the business, or its party members then it should be kept private. All employees always should have rights to privacy in the workplace. Five main points dealing with privacy in public/private structured businesses are background checks, respect of off duty activities/leisure, drug testing, workplace search, and monitoring of workplace activity. Coming to a conclusion on privacy, are there any limits to which employers have limitations to intrusion, dominance on the employee’s behavior, and properties.
30 Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2002) Employee Monitoring: Is There Privacy in the Workplace? . (6/3/2004)
Sometimes there is no middle ground. Monitoring of employees at the workplace, either you side with the employees or you believe management owns the network and should call the shots. The purpose of this paper is to tackle whether monitoring an employee is an invasion of privacy. How new technology has made monitoring of employees by employers possible. The unfairness of computerized monitoring software used to watch employees. The employers desire to ensure that the times they are paying for to be spent in their service is indeed being spent that way. Why not to monitor employees, as well as tips on balancing privacy rights of employees at the job.
Privacy and Rights In The Work Place. Houston: University of Houston, College of Business Administration, 1998.
One type of surveillance is employee monitoring. Many employers monitor their workers’ activities for one reason or another. Companies monitor employees using many methods. They may use access panels that requires employees to identify themselves to control entry to various area in the building, allowing them to create a log of employee movements. They may also use software to monitor attendance and work hours. Additionally, many programs allows companies to monitor activities performed on work computers, inspect employee emails, log keystrokes, etc. An emerging methods of employee monitor also include social network and search engine monitoring. Employers can find out who their employees are associated with, as well as other potentially incriminating information. (Ciocchetti)
As society has progressed, there have been many new innovative and unbelievable developments in almost all aspects of life that have ultimately created an impact. More specifically, advancements in technology have rather had a much larger and intense impact on society as it continues to grow. Technology has allowed for many great and useful applications that has made life much easier and convenient. However, many aspects of technology have given a rise to a number of social and ethical issues, causing numerous debates and concerns. One of the more prominent concerns deals with the issue of privacy rights.
If people feel comfortable in their surroundings then privacy is not a concern. At other times, people feel violated when they are subject to random searches; this random factor is what other people consider wrong. People feel intruded on when they see a roadblock ahead or a request to see their driver’s license when writing checks. Others are interrupted at dinner by the phone ringing from telemarketers. This selling of information is what the Europeans call data protection. If the data is not kept private, things such as credit card numbers could be stolen over the phone.
Brandeis co-wrote an article titled, “The Right To Privacy.” Warren and Brandeis were partners in law, and they wrote this article on the basis, they feared that this modern technology, the camera, would invade individuals’ privacy. They clarify their goals to, "It is our purpose to consider whether the existing law affords a principle which can properly be invoked to protect the privacy of the individual; and, if it does, what the nature and extent of such protection is” (Warren). Included in their article, they states that privacy rights should protect both businesses and private individuals. Items such as diaries, personal photographs, and letters also deserve to have discretion and not everyone should have access to them.
In Australia, Employers should implement best practice on how to maintain privacy in the workplace in accordance with the privacy standards set out in the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) (Welcome to the Fair Work Ombudsman website. n.d.). Privacy is able to keep our own personal information private and also able to do things without any electronic monitoring in the workplace. Nowadays, many company increased the usage of technology such as internet and email in the workplace. This can create issues in privacy. When employees’ access to web browsing activities during working hours, the employer can be scrutinized it. Employers take this action due to fear lawsuit if employees act in inappropriate ways. Therefore, the best policy is to explain clearly how is appropriate to use email and internet at work and outline what type of use is prohibited in the workplace. Besides that, employer also needs to ensure the employee didn’t disclose or disseminate any important information to the competitors or
But, these laws always changing, depending on the work setting or policies set by any specific organizations. Because there are so many different work environments, each claim of privacy has to be evaluated based on the actual conditions of the workplace (Smith & Burg, 2015). This is why policies must be set according to the CEO needs. If the organization does not allow the use of the internet for any personal use, than the employee must follow such guidelines. This eliminates employee privacy right violations, because the policy will informs them of the monitoring during the hiring
For every technological introduction or advancement, there are consequences which come with it. This excludes not those that come with introduction of management information systems in companies. The modern society is entirely depended on information systems. Failure of these systems, today, can be declared as end of humanity. Worse enough is that there is a generational shift whereby future generations will not live without information systems that manage information. However, latest evaluations of the impact of management information systems have proven that there are chances, which are very high, of ethics being abused at the work place. Both the employees and the employers, are guarded by certain cord of ethics which aim at regulating the dignity of everybody at working place; and how far one party can be influential on the other especially on matters pertaining privacy. Profit making goals should not, by any means, overlook the importance of working ethics. This paper endeavors to explore areas of major concern where working ethics are likely to be compromised or have already been compromised at the working place due to institution of management information systems. Nevertheless, this research does not underscore the importance of these systems at the working place. The aim is to expose the negative impacts that might result from misuse of management information systems. These impacts can emanate from either party that forms part of the organization. In this case, mostly, it is either from the employee or the employer.