Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Privacy in the Workplace
The importance of privacy has risen over the years and its handling has become extremely crucial lately. Defaulting organisations have been faced with serious legal actions and thus, companies have taken a higher interest in the conversations of their workforce. However, this effort of the employer aimed at monitoring the activities of workers isn't as smooth as it should be due to the right of the employee to personal privacy.
The right of the workers to workplace privacy has caused several court cases recently, mostly due to the digital revolution of business communication i.e. emails, memos etc. Technological developments have made it possible for all form of digital communication as well as Internet use in the workplace to be placed under surveillance. Although employees have their reservations about this, the employers are protected by the law. However, other actions of the workers like confidential discussions and their private spaces at their offices are given higher privacy allowances. Nonetheless, actions like substance use when detected could lead to addiction tests (Smith & Burg, 2012).
When queries are made over employee workplace privacy rights, it could be very helpful to begin investigating the claims by attempting to answer the question: What really happened? This question is important in order to understand the rights concerned and the precise technology involved in the query. In some cases, general workers might have separate privacy regulations from the isolated workers or the company could be disinterested in the privacy of the workers. In other cases, the company could take the issue of privacy seriously and implement measures like passwords, information classes and even electronic lockboxes.
Furthermore, it is crucial to note that regulations guarding employee privacy are far behind many of the technological advances that are gradually being inducted into the workplace and the present laws often stay out of cases involving electronic privacy. The rapid evolvement of technology has caused several judges to avoid questions over the future of laws in this area. Due to these problems, individual workplace privacy issues have to be thoroughly assessed (Smith & Burg, 2012).
Technology and the Workplace
It has become quite rampant for employees to misuse the available workplace technological facilities. Despite the warnings of the employers, reading news dailies, online shopping and even improper emailing at work still remain the...
Lots of these erring employees erroneously believe their employers are oblivious to their actions.
It has been proved that over a third of medium and large scale organizations keep their workers' email and web actions under surveillance. Equally, about 57% of workers believe employers are right by monitoring their workplace communication (Muhl, 2003). Despite obvious worries about this development, surveillance software sales rose from $139 million in 2001 to about $662 million within 5 years. The basis for this are: risk of litigation (68%), security worries (60%), and employee efficiency reasons (45%)(Cox, Goette, & Young, 2005).
Top company personnel and tech experts often have problems with the simplicity and the speed of information transfer. Email, for instance, does not have the features of previous modes of communication like letters and phone calls. This freedom cause less importance to be placed on the content and could lead to private or insulting information being sent. Equally, people should consider the risk of the message being intercepted or diverted which could have dire consequences for the company as well as the workforce (Cox, Goette, & Young, 2005).
Right of Privacy
Government employees might be protected by the constitutional arrangement concerning privacy in the Fourth Amendment, but its level of influence doesn't include private employers and how they relate to their workers. Despite this, there are certain legal provisions for privacy issues e.g. the law against invasion of privacy. For both laws, specifying if the expectations of the employee meet certain standards is the desired objective. Due to the various types of workplaces, each reported privacy issue should be treated based on the nature of the workplace. Things to consider are how long existing spaces and technology has been in use, how well they have been used and how personal effects and knowledge are stored as directed by the employer. Equally, the presence of relevant policy guarding this issue is also considered (Smith & Burg, 2012).
Employer's Policies
Clearly defined policies about employee privacy help quash any sort of personal privacy expectations concerning technology use as it would be foolhardy to continue to trust certain privacy provisions after appropriate information has been passed across to that effect. Factors to take into account include if the company prohibits improper use of the computing and email facilities, if outsiders are…
Bibliography
Cox, S., Goette, T., & Young, D. (2005). Workplace Surveillance and Employee Privacy: Implementing an Effective Computer Use Policy. Communications of the IIMA.
Muhl, C., (2003). Workplace e-mail and Internet use; employees and employers beware. Monthly Labor Review. 2, 36-45.
Smith, D., & Burg, J. (2012). What Are the Limits of Employee Privacy? Retrieved from GP Solo: http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gp_solo/2012/november_december2012privacyandconfidentiality/what_are_limits_employee_privacy.html
Privacy of an Individual in the Workplace Argument Length: 2,000 words Task Construct argument notion individual's privacy important consideration workplace, Use ethical theory support position. Rationale This task designed: demonstrate capacity understand evaluate privacy; demonstrate understanding issues encroach individual's privacy workplace; demonstrate ability construct a compelling argument logically consistent supported ethical theory; Privacy of an individual in the workplace In the workplace, it is expected that employees must relinquish some of their most
Privacy and Abuse Protection Efforts of Businesses Facts Many workforces in most nations all over the world are increasingly becoming global. These workforces cooperate, communicate, and link up in multinationals and global marketplaces via web-based applications across countries and territories. The phenomenon of globalization has removed quite a number of differences amongst peoples and nations both in workplaces and in other areas[footnoteRef:2]. However, some questions have been raised on the origins of
This will prevent the employee from claiming that they had their basic civil rights violated. In the future, once new changes are introduced (from transformations in technology), is when there will be new policies implemented. During this process, everyone will have to go through a new course that will explain these guidelines. After they have finished, is when they will sign another disclosure document. If the kind of approach was used
Workplace Drug Screening Testing for drugs has developed into a significant security concern in places of work for management. The purpose of screening is to diminish the effects that illegal substance abuse has on the places of business, comprising lateness, non-attendance, turnover, mind-set troubles, theft, reduced output, misdeeds and hostility. "The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that drug use in the workplace costs employers $75 to $100 billion dollars annually in
They are also required to assess and address risks to customer information in all areas of operations, including employee management and training, information systems, and detecting and managing system failures. They must address what information is collected and stored as well as whether there is a business need for that particular information. Depending on the type of business operations, privacy laws govern how companies collect, store, and use customer identifiable
Workplace Privacy Issue: For a long period of time, the right to privacy, including workplace privacy has been a major controversial issue. In the recent past, workplace privacy issues have become major focal point of debates regarding the rights of employers and employees because of the impact of technological advancements, legislative scrutiny, and rising costs of healthcare. Generally, workplace privacy issues are divided into two major categories i.e. on-the-job and off-the-job