MONITORING EMPLOYEES

Monitoring Employees

Monitoring Employees

Introduction

In recent years, different work place dynamics have gained importance. Among these issues monitoring employees has also gained a lot of attention. Actions like drug and alcohol testing, soliciting criminal records checks, background checks, and electronic performance monitoring became a common practice in the corporate world. Most employers consider these different activities necessary in maintaining the organizational effectiveness while employees have different concerns about their privacy. Employers are of the perspective that while conducting business they have to ensure the effectiveness of the workplace and efficiency of employees and for that they have to keep a check on employees. Different methods of quality control and cost effectiveness are used by employers. Since, employees make an integral part of the business, so employee monitoring also becomes a part of their routine to ensure that their business goals are met. Also, when they spend so much time, effort and money on recruitment and selection of best potential employees, organizations are looking for a return. Similarly, employees also have certain expectations from their employer. Most employees in today's age look for empowerment and freedom to make decisions. Employees consider too many controls, checks and balance a curb on their freedom and privacy. The main objective of this paper is to talk about the issue of monitoring of employees and then discuss the issue from variegated aspects. The paper first outlines the main purpose of the research and then discusses in detail each set research point. After the discussion, of the research goals the paper ends up with a conclusion.

Research Statement

The main ambition of this paper is to talk about the issue of monitoring employees. The topic of monitoring of employees is so broad so, this paper has established facets of this issue. These specific facets would be explored through this research. These research goals are as follows:

To explore different electronic means through which employers practice monitoring of employees.

To determine what are scores of pros and cons of electronic monitoring.

To reveal what are the various alternative strategies or options available to employers to deal with the issue.

Discussion

The first and foremost research goal that is set for the paper is to talk about different electronic means of monitoring employees. Before embarking to these different means, it would be beneficial to talk about the trends of electronic monitoring in the corporate world. Employers today make extensive use of technology to check and monitor employee behavior and how much time they give to their work and how much time they spend sit idle. New, improved and advanced technologies are hitting the market everyday making privacy a crucial issue. In the presence of such technologies extensively used by the employers nowadays, it is hard for employees to keep everything in secret and to completely protect their privacy. “Nine out of ten employers observe your electronic behavior, according to the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College. A study by the American Management Association and the e-policy Institute found 76% of employers' watch you surf the Web ...