WORKPLACE PRIVACY

Workplace Privacy

Workplace Privacy

Introduction

Privacy can be regarded as a privilege, and therefore as an essential right or interest to be impartial against others. Privacy in an organization is about providing the employee's the right to private space and to manage their private information with the employer's right to supervise the workplace and make effective assessment and decisions. In some cases, gathering of information about employees can sometimes concentrate on improper information or some unreasonable methods could be used by the employers. However, the employer has the right to know the information about the employees as much as possible. Today's technology has blurred the concern, as it allows using of never considered before methods to access information.

The first highlight of this debate will be the reasons as to why the employer chooses to gather information, monitor the organization and concerns raised by the employees due to this process. The nature and means of monitoring by the employer will also be discussed (including the regulation of off-work acts as well as drug testing), and whether have legal and ethical reasons for doing this. This paper discusses the nature of organizations' relationships with their customers and employees and determines whether lack of privacy is an issue and whether we should learn to "get over it".

Discussion

Why do organizations monitor private Information and Their Workplaces?

There are various reasons for the employers to make the choice of monitoring the employees. A reason for choosing the employer to monitor the employees of the organization is because of the law, as an employer is responsible for its employees' acts, which is why the employers look for maximum amount for data they can access of their employees to guard themselves from any liabilities. On However, researching the areas that have insignificant importance to the individual's abilities to do work tasks is exposing the employees' privacy.

Reasons for Employees to be concerned

In the organization, there are various motives to limit surveillance. Firstly, such control can create a hostile work environment and morale of the employees will be affected. Moreover, gathering of such information can result in increasing the stress and pressure, a negative impact on the work tasks and can cause physical turmoil. Additionally, surveillance may be taken as restricting the right of independence and freewill. According to a study, monitored employees suffer depression, extreme anxiety, fatigue or exhaustion, strain injuries and neck problems (Argandoña, 2003: 03).

Monitoring Impact

The arrival of new technology led to the emergence of new ethical issues because we regard the technology progress and don't consider the implications. Despite the problems associated with the different areas of the company process, now we have ethics problems that have never been faced previously. For instance, the rule does not essentially deal with the new challenges like the implication of latest technologies in respect to the distinction caused between the use of work and personal use of technology, the variables of time management, protection for medical problems, monitoring the Web usage so to disseminate the information and ...