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Industrial & Organisational : Introduction : Personnel : Organizational psychology : Occupations: Work environment: Index : Outline
Employee monitoring is the process of surveillance of employees by their employers.
Methods[]
Software[]
See also main article: Employee monitoring software
E-mail scanning[]
E-mail scanning is a process in which incoming and outgoing mail passes through E-mail filtering software to search for content which may violate the policies of the employer. Often E-mails which are flagged by the filtering software will be then reviewed by a human to verify the validity of the E-mail content. Employees often consider E-mail scanning to be an invasion of privacy, but in many situations, employment contracts are written to give the employer permission to use it without legal repercussions.
Data entry, phone work, and retail[]
Monitoring systems can automatically count every keystroke of data-entry and data-processing clerks. Similarly, workers who answer telephone calls all day are monitored in detail. The exact number and duration of each call, and the idle time between calls, can go into an automatic log for analysis.
Video surveillance[]
One of the most effective forms of employee monitoring is through the use of Video surveillance equipment. Video feeds of employee activities are fed back to a central location where they are either recorded or monitored live by another person.
Location monitoring[]
For employees that do not work in a static location, supervisors may chose to track their location. Common examples of this are delivery and transportation industries. In some of these cases the employee monitoring is incidental as the location is tracked for other purposes, such as determining the amount of time before a parcel will be delivered, or which taxi is closest.
Employee surveillance may lead to an executive's decision on whether to promote or demote and employee or in some cases even fire them.
Different techniques can be used, e.g. employees' cell phone or Mobile phone tracking.
Employee privacy and ethical issues[]
Companies need to make sure they remain moral in utilizing techniques for monitoring their employees. From an ethical point of view, the employee does not give up all of his or her privacy while they are in their work environment. Privacy can become a moral matter, but it is important to know what the employee and employer rights are. The ethical challenge that companies face involves protecting their interests through Internet monitoring while ensuring they don't go so far that employees lose all sense of privacy in the workplace.[1] When a policy is in place, both the employer and employee will understand what is expected of each other. Without the proper policies and procedures there becomes no set standard and theoretically the employee has nothing to go by. The employee needs to understand what is expected of them while the employer needs to establish that rule.
Legal issues[]
In Canada, it is illegal to perform invasive monitoring, such as reading an employee's emails, unless it can be shown that it is a necessary precaution and there are no other alternatives [citation needed].In Maryland everyone in the conversation must give consent before the conversation can be recorded. The state of California requires that monitored conversations have a beep at certain intervals or there must be a message informing the caller that the conversations may be recorded, take note that this is not informing the company representative which calls are being recorded. Other states, including Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado and New Jersey, also have laws relating to when a conversation can be recorded
The following uses of employee information are generally considered legal:
- Find needed business information when the employee is not available.
- Protect security of proprietary information and data.
- Prevent or investigate possible criminal activities by employees.
- Prevent personal use of employer facilities.
- Check for violations of company policy against sending offensive or pornographic email.
- Investigate complaints of harassment.
- Check for illegal software.
According to Computer Monitoring: The Hidden War Of Control,“The employer of today has the ability and legal right to read e-mail, review files stored on a company computer, examine computer usage, and track individual employee computer activities. The idea of anonymous actions is an illusion. Every action between a network and the computers connected to it can be tracked. Every action by an individual worker on a computer can be tracked, analyzed and used against the employee. The protections and freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights are there to protect the individual from the Government and do not generally apply to the normal employee/employer relationship.”[2]
Security[]
In some cases, monitoring an employee's work leads to monitoring the employee's life in aspects that are not related to work. This leads to acquisition of information about the employee, compromising the security of the employee.
See also[]
- Monitoring
- Mass surveillance
- Surveillance
- Workplace privacy
References[]
- ↑ Burks, F. Ethical Issues & Employer Monitoring Internet Usage. Chron.com, 2010.
- ↑ Kevin, P. P., & Tammy, Y. A. (2011). Computer monitoring: The hidden war of control. International Journal of Management and Information Systems, 15(1), 49-58. Retrieved from http://http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/IJMIS/article/view/1595
External links[]
- Article from howstuffworks.com
- A privacy rights fact sheet
- BuitendienstInBeeld: Online service for employees' cellphone monitoring and reporting
- Ethical Issues & Employer Monitoring Internet Usage
- Santa Clara University
Employment | |
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See also: template Corporate titles • template Workplace | |
Classifications |
Casual / Contingent • Full-time • Part-time • Self-employed / Independent contractor • Temporary • Wage labour |
Hiring |
Application • Background check • Contract • Cover letter • Drug testing • Employment counsellor • Interview • Job fraud • Job hunting • Probation • Recruiter (Employment agency • Executive search) • Overqualification • References • Résumé / Curriculum Vitæ (CV) • Underemployment • Work-at-home scheme |
Roles |
Co-op • Employee • Employer • Internship • Job • Numerary • Permanent • Permatemp • Supernumerary • Supervisor • Volunteer |
Worker class |
Blue-collar worker • Gold-collar worker • Green-collar worker • Grey-collar worker • Pink-collar worker • White-collar worker |
Career and training |
Apprenticeship • Avocation • Coaching • Career assessment • Career counseling • Career development • Creative class • Education (Continuing education • Continuing professional development • E-learning • Employability • Further education • Graduate school • Induction training • Initial Professional Development • Knowledge worker • Licensure • Lifelong learning • Practice-based professional learning • Professional association • Professional certification • Professional development • Vocational education • Reflective practice • Vocational retraining • Vocational school • Vocational university) • Mentorship • Profession • Tradesman • Vocation |
Attendance |
Break • Career break • Furlough • Gap year • Leave of absence • Long service leave • No call, no show • Sabbatical • Sick leave |
Schedules |
35-hour workweek • Eight-hour day • Flextime • Four-day week • Overtime • Retroactive overtime • Shift work • Telecommuting • Working time • Workweek |
Wages |
Living wage • Maximum wage • Average wage (World • Europe) • Minimum wage (Canada • Hong Kong • Europe • USA) • Overtime rate • Paid time off • Performance-related pay • Salary • Salary cap • Working poor |
Benefits |
Annual leave • Disability insurance • Health insurance • Life insurance • Parental leave • Sick leave • Take-home vehicle |
Safety and health |
Epilepsy and employment • Ergonomics • Industrial noise • Occupational disease • Occupational exposure limit • Occupational health psychology • Occupational injury • Sick building syndrome • Work accident (Occupational fatality) • Workers' compensation • Work–life balance • Workplace stress • Workplace wellness |
Equality | |
Infractions |
Discrimination • Employee handbook • Evaluation • Labour law • Sexual harassment • Sleeping while on duty • Workplace bullying • Workplace incivility • Workplace surveillance |
Willingness |
Anti-work • Extreme careerism • Civil conscription • Conscription • Dead-end job • Full employment • Job satisfaction • McJob • Slavery (Bonded labor • Human trafficking • Labour camp • Penal labour • Peonage • Truck system • Unfree labour • Wage slavery) • Refusal of work • Work aversion • Work ethic • Workaholic |
Termination |
At-will employment • Constructive dismissal • Dismissal • Layoff • Letter of resignation • Pink slip • Recession-proof job • Resignation • Retirement • Severance package • Types of unemployment • Unemployment • Unemployment benefits • Unemployment rates • Wrongful dismissal |
Aspects of workplaces |
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See also: template Aspects of corporations · template Aspects of occupations · template Aspects of organizations · template Employment · Corporation · Employment · Factory · Office · Organization · Whistleblower |
Absenteeism · Aggression · Bullying · Conflict · Control freak · Counterproductive behavior · Coworker backstabbing · Cyber-aggression · Democracy · Deviance · Discrimination · Diversity · Emotion · Employee silence · Employee surveys · Empowerment · Evaluation · Feminisation · Friendship · Gender inequality · Gossip · Happiness · Harassment · Health surveillance · Humor · Incivility · Intervention · Jargon · Listening · Micromanagement · Mobbing · Morale · Office politics · Performance appraisal · Phobia · Privacy · Probation · Profanity · Queen bee syndrome · Relationships · Revenge · Romance · Sabotage · Safety · Spirituality · Staff turnover · Strategy · Stress · Surveillance · Toxic workplace · Training · Violence · Wellness |
{enWP|Employee monitoring}}