Ethical Implications Of Electronic Monitoring In The Workplace

With increased technology development, employee monitoring has become a controversial topic over the past few decades. Traditional employee action and management changed during this time. Misuse of company property, decreased productivity, and workplace violence are the main reasons for monitoring employees. Additionally, the rising need and use of technology fostered the need of monitoring daily activities and heightened the pressure between the employee privacy and management rights of the employers. Despite posing both legal and ethical issues, employee monitoring functions to protect both employees and employers.

Workplace surveillance can involve different forms of monitoring. Some businesses may opt to simply monitor phone calls and e-mail. While other businesses opt for video surveillance of company property, including the employees working on site. Whatever the form, employee monitoring gives rise to many issues and some employees simply do not agree with the process. It is important for both employers and employees alike to understand the negative and positive effects of employee monitoring. Understanding these effects can lead to more employee support

"Electronic monitoring has deep ethical implications with respect to workplace outcomes such as employee perceptions of privacy rights, fairness judgments, quality of work-life, and stress-related illness." (Alder, Schminke, Noel, Kuenzi, 2008, p. 481). Most of the ethical implications of employee monitoring fall under an employee's idea of morality. An employee may feel that it is unethical to invade their privacy, even though that employee is using company property. "A common reaction to the suggestion that employers may monitor such internal (to the firm) communications is that this is an abridgement of the constitutional right to free speech guaranteed by the first amendment." (Hodson, Englander, & Englander, 1999, para