The Legal, Ethical and Managerial Concerns of Employee Monitoring

The Legal, Ethical and Managerial Concerns of Employee Monitoring

Employee monitoring has become almost a necessity in today's high tech business world. With many different avenues of social networking and the fact that many company's employees have to use a computer to do their work, the monitoring has also turned into a controversial issue. Employee monitoring is the act of monitoring or watching employees' actions and usage of company equipment and or property during working hours. But, is how often they monitor their employee what is controversial or is it the fact that the employer is monitoring them at all? Do employees feel as though they are in a hostile workspace to where their company and supervisors do not trust them? Or is it that the employee feels like their management is invading their privacy?

When it comes to monitoring an employee, one must review their state and the federal Employee Monitoring Law. By ignoring the states law when it comes to employee monitoring, you may be in violation of the law. Though it may typically not be a violation of employee's rights to monitor an employees' email and computer without making the employee aware, in some states you must give the employee notice of such a monitoring. (Law 360) The best way to go about this would be to have the employee sign a legal document, called an Acceptable Use Policy, or AUP, that states that at any time, the company will and can, access the employees email and may monitor their internet access and activity while connected to company equipment. By having the employee sign this AUP, maybe while they are filling out paperwork as a new hire or just every year when they do their benefit enrollments, this would ensure that the employer has covered the basis and has approval from the employee. Also, it would allow the company to part ways with the employee if there were misuse of the equipment because the computers are company property. If there were push back from the employee, this would tell the employer that this particular employee might be a high liability to the company.

Though many employees tend to think of the amount of monitoring that is done by their employers is an invasion of their privacy, the employee needs to also understand how their actions also represent the company. If the employee is always on the Internet, by either updating their Facebook status or just watching videos on YouTube, while they are supposed to be representing the company, this action could pose dissatisfaction to the customer and can be destructive for their company (JAME.com). If the employee is constantly distracted by the access of the internet, their work may also show a lack of relevance, could be rushed to where errors are being made, and could in turn cost the company millions of dollars each year. Therefore, the ethics of monitoring employee's use and access when it comes to using the Internet and company email becomes needed to protect the company, its employees and its clients.

Access to Internet is not the only outlook that should be monitored though.