7 replies to this topic

[chriso_86]

Recently, I have noticed that the topic of monitoring employees while they work to make sure they are really doing what they are suppose to has been a hot topic. What do you think? Is it a total invasion of privacy? Do companies have the right since you are working for them and using their materials?

[Sphere]

Can't be allowed as a fulltime system, but checking on employees is not a bad thing

[chriso_86]

Here is a paper I had to write for a recent English class.


Supervision or Intrusion?
Recently, you and the management staff have looked into implementing a strategy to monitor employee activity on the phones and computers. This proposition has been met with mixed feelings among the staff of Flash Phones-R-Us. The following will outline the pros and cons of the proposition, followed by my recommendation.
In today’s world we can no longer rely on people always being truthful and making wise choices. For this very reason, the need for supervision in the work place is justified. With the size of our company we could potentially be losing hundreds of work hours per year lost to employees using company resources for personal means. This in return could result in tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Another real threat is that employee’s could use our internet service to look at unsuitable materials, hack into companies, or catch viruses. In any of these cases this could result in the company being liable in a possible lawsuit, lost or corrupted data, or further IT expenses. Monitoring employees would help us to find these possible problems early and stop them before further damage can occur.
Although the positives look great to management, we don’t always consider the effects that our policies might have on our employees. The fact is that this is seen has an invasion of privacy among the employees. When you hired them you put trust in them that they were qualified to do their job. So, this is seen as a lost in trust which could be more damaging to the company in revenue due to poor moral. It is proven that some personal time at work increases productivity throughout the day. Also, many are worried about those individuals that will be monitoring them. What guarantee’s that the IT monitoring the employees is going to be honest? So, you would need someone to monitor the monitors to ensure that monitoring is kept confidential. On the surface the idea sounds like a money saving proposition, but in the long run due to the increased staff needed to perform these duties and the lowering in moral the policy might actually cost you more money in lost revenue in the long run.
You can now clearly see the pros and cons of implementing a monitoring protocol in our company. Personally, I think there is room for compromise. I can see the need to monitor certain activities in order to protect our company from lawsuits and other damaging materials. However, the need to protect our employee’s moral is just as important. Therefore, I propose that we implement the monitoring only for websites. This would allow us to watch for employee’s going to unwanted sites such as looking up pornography or information on hacking or weapons. I think employees would agree that this is a good safety measure which could actually make them feel safer working with their peers. However, the plan for monitoring phone calls should be dropped. There are occasions in which confidential information either business or personal is passed over phone conversations which doesn’t need to be heard by those that are monitoring the lines. If there is suspicion that an employee is using the phone to much for personal use then they should be addressed in person, not by listening in on their conversation. Monitoring employees is important and a very controversial topic, recently several members of HP’s management team were fired due to their employee monitoring practices. I feel that implementing this small portion of the overall plan is a safer step rather than being totally paranoid and going overboard and losing the faith of our most important asset, our employee’s.

[David_Heavey]

Personally I'm all for it. It's a great deterrent for people slacking off. Slackers must cost companies a lot of money each year. I hate slackers. We had a few at work. Note "HAD"

Edited by David_Heavey, 26 February 2007 - 10:57 PM.

[chriso_86]

So how did you catch them dave? What kind of stuff do you monitor? What program do you use, etc?

[Scuba]

Sphere, on Feb 26 2007, 04:26 PM, said:

Can't be allowed as a fulltime system, but checking on employees is not a bad thing

I have to agree that its not a bad thing, helps keep employees on track and keeps those who arent there to work out of the work place, but on the other hand there are times in the day when you need a break from what your doin in order to keep yourself from going crazy. Some people go have a smoke, some just get up and hit the break room, and others play a quick computer game or check and respond to their mail and those who choose not to smoke or leave their desk shouldnt be punished if they choose to take a quick break from their work load. So the monitoring could get those in trouble who choose to stay put. Its a touchy subject.

[BlueScreenOfDeath]

youre there to work, you get paid to WORK, not sit there and shop on ebay, old navy or newegg. I see nothing wrong with it. Companies total probably lost close to 400 billion dollars worth because of this 'sensitive' issue. You cant stand to work 8 hrs and save your surfing for home then you probably shouldnt need to be working there then.