Employee privacy rights in the workplace

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Failure by employees to adhere to work ethics especially in the advent of Internet has led organizations to engage employee-monitoring activities . Where employees adhere to the professional code of conduct less challenges and problems in terms of bad conduct , scandals and conflicts are avoided in the work place

Security and Privacy have become synonymous with Internet use . Rarely can any one think of doing online transactions without first worrying about the twin issues of security , and privacy . Internet security is particularly a

tricky and complex phenomenon because of the lack of universality in implementation of various security policies and acts Secondly , the advent of Internet as well as its ever-rising relevancy and popularity has caught many stakeholders including governments software companies as well as regulatory agencies by surprise . At first few would imagine that Internet could be used negatively by employees However , this has in recent times become a reality and employee abuse of office resources can authoritatively be termed as one of the most dangerous crimes facing organizations today . Finkin , 1995

Professionalism is the practical behavior portrayed in a place by both the employer and employee . Professionalism entails a number of characteristics key of which are the right focus towards the job positive attitude and being goal oriented . Whether employee monitoring is professional behavior or not is very much debatable but definitely it is unfair for an employer to jump into secretly monitoring and surveying employees in the work place without their consent . Once employees notice that , they are under surveillance they are likely to become irritated and betrayed . As much as employers ' have a right to take all measures possible to cut down costs of production especially by minimizing wastage , this should be applied up to agreeable limits without infringing on personal freedom . Professionalism involves display of interest in the job , good communication skills , work etiquette accountability and commitment to teamwork . If both the employer and employee adhere to professional conduct in their respective roles incidences , which warrant surveillance , would significantly drop . In some instances , some employers rush into surveillance at the slightest provocation and sometimes the fear is not warranted at all . Majority of the organizations are rushing to install monitoring systems not because of security threats but rather because of technological evolution . S Elizabeth , 1998

Their argument is valid bearing in mind that many organizations are keen to embrace modern information technology for the sake of public relations as opposed to warranted situations . Revolution in information technology has impacted on professionalism in that employers are more likely to overlook the professional aspect of a decision in favor of technological advantage , which comes with the kind of decision Interestingly , many managers do not carry out studies to establish the employees ' attitudes towards such a decision before making those decisions

Privacy

Privacy can be defined as the personal interests touching on the individual 's right to personal space , whereby freedom from interference is guaranteed by the state or the organizations one works for...