"Corporate social networking software measures, reads, and evaluates e-mails, instant messages, and calendar entries, capturing the names of message authors..." When I first read this, a whole different thought came into my mind than what the article talked about. I immediately thought about how businesses are watching, or you could say targeting, each employee. With the new technology innovations, companies are becoming more watchful of each employee. They track everything an employee does in their system and judges their character and work performance basically based off their personal life.
I just recently read an article in the paper that talked about a handful of employees that got fired for porn searching over 19,000 times in 2007 at work. I think in some cases, such as this, it is important to watch over your employees, because you obviously don't always know what they are doing. In such situations, it's evident that employees are not getting work done. Although this is only one example, I do think there are many situations where this would be an invasion of privacy. When I first heard about companies searching possible new graduate employees on facebook, I thought, well OK, maybe they want to see their work background or perhaps where they are from. Then, of course, I heard about companies not accepting some people based of pictures or comments, and then I thought, what do you expect from someone who was just in college and wanted to enjoy the rest of their freedom?! In some cases, it's necessary to search what employees are doing. My one question is where do you draw the line? How much searching is too much and constitutes as invading one's privacy?
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4 comments:
I feel that the fact that employees were looking at porn instead of working as irrelevant to them not working in general. We have all worked at some point and know that a person does not necessarily work for every minute they are on the job. We browse the internet, while work isn't being done and I feel that's normal. We all need breaks and such. However, the fact that others can see what your looking at is simply invasion of privacy. I don't think others should be allowed to see what your seeing because its private and you personal life. You should not be judged by what you view. You should have your freedom.
I also find it weird that people are looking up porn while they are supposed to be working. Don't people have anything better to do or watch or read about?
I just want to clarify my point. I'm not saying that people don't take time off during work, but if you look at this example, it is obvious that you need to be concerned with what an employee is doing at times. If you say a person works 260 days a year and browsed for porn 19,000 times in that year, that person browsed on average 73 times a day. In that example, I don't think the person was working very much.
However, there are other examples, which I said, where workers take time off here and there to browse the internet, which is fine. But there is a point where employees should stop doing personal things and do their work. I just wonder where that line should be drawn. I also think it is an invasion of privacy to some extent, but you still need to have some control over the employees and making sure things get completed.
It is excellent idea. I support you.
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