Can My Boss Do That?

    All employers want their employees are doing a good job, but employees do not want be monitoring all the time. They want to have their own privacy. This is the essential conflict of the workplace monitoring. Let’s assume your boss can monitor any  phone, company-owned computer or any other technology.  Deleted computer files and emails are not completely gone. If it was ever on your computer, it can still be found. They may find our your personal things that you do not want your boss know, or it is not good for a boss to know. New technologies make it possible for employers to monitor many aspects of their employees’ job, especially on telephone, computer voice mail and so on. Such monitoring is virtually unregulated. Therefore, unless company policy specifically states, otherwise your employer may listen, watch and read most of your workplace communications.

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Your boss can monitor:

  • Internet use
  • how long your are on your computer
  • software downloads
  • Documents on your computer
  • What websites you visit
  • Emails
  • Chatting

However, bosses have their own reason for monitor their employees:

  • Make sure employees do not share secret company information
  • Exposing computer viruses
  • Working during working time
  • How hard the worker are
  • bandwidth use

Currently there are only a few law regulating employee monitoring. However, there are several groups that are actively involved in workplace monitoring issues and that advocate stronger government regulation of employee monitoring activities. Obviously, the laws are on the side of the employers.  The employer has the right to telephone monitor, computer monitor, electronic mail monitor, voice mail monitor, postal mail monitor , and video monitor, which the employee cannot say no to these. If i were the employee and under these monitors, i may not feel like comfortable. I feel like there is a person who are watching me.

So for workers, how could they feel more comfortable under all these monitors? In my opinion, if they do not use the computer to do any personal thing, it will never be a problem their boss to find on their computer. Next,  it is better for the employees to use personal email account instead of working email, but that does not give you the total protection, however,  your boss will know that you are doing your personal thing and may not care about that. All in all, put most of your working time on working, do not do any other things that is not related to your work, such as read the facebook, shopping online, then your boss will know you are not lazy and will not fire you.

Do you think the boss can monitor all these?

If Yes/No, what is the reason?

Related article: http://www.hrexaminer.com/employee-privacy-what-can-employers-monitor/

 

9 thoughts on “Can My Boss Do That?

  1. I am fine with employers monitoring said things above, because when I am at work, I don’t have time to do non-work-related things anyway. Also, I know many people who have denied a company phone, because they do monitor those, and I would too. My phone is mine, and no one else needs to know what’s being done on it, even if it’s just checking the weather. Anything to do with work property, however, I think the employer is well within its boundaries to monitor all goings-on with company property. It’s not as if they are constantly staring at a computer screen waiting for you to type facebook, but I am sure there are things that put up a red flag, and multiple offenses will result in consequences.

  2. I completely agree with Jeffs comment above, he is right that, when working I don’t even think we have time to do non work related things. At the same time on my break when I used to work at Walgreens, I would go on my computer to check my Facebook and other social media’s but I don’t want the company to be apart of my social life. There should be a limit that needs to be made where bosses can do things or not to. If i were to get a company phone, I would strictly just use it for work and not even have it on me during the weekends or time I am not working. Work phones are necessary when you own your own business or you are a top director or President of a company but any normal employee should not have one, because i honestly don’t see the reason when you can be reached through emails or non work phone.

  3. This is a great topic because it involves the privacy of the company.I believe it is okay for any boss to monitor your activity while your at the office for various reasons. First, it’s important to keep the company’s information as confidential as possible and one way to prevent this is by setting restrictions on your employees from visiting other websites and personal information on any of the company’s computers. For example, this past summer I interned for Staples Corporate, at Staples our computers did not allow us to visit Facebook or any social media sites because of privacy settings that were enabled by the company’s security department. Overall, I believe a worker should not even have the time to visit other sites or do other things while they are doing work.

  4. When I am at work I try not to visit social media sites at all. I have my phone for that. It is a very fine line that bosses can abuse if they are monitoring their employees. I think just knowing the fact that someone is watching me at work makes me wary when I type Grantland or Twitter into my search bar. This philosophy can act as a deterrent in an employee’s eyes

  5. I believe that people who have something to hide have problem with being monitored and watched. I would not feel comfortable if this process would continue 24/7. However, we are talking about the time during an employee should be focusing, and commit his/hers time fully to their performance and tasks. Most of us if we were in charge as an employer we would like to know if wages paid to our workers are compensated based on their effectiveness on the tasks or just being idle and sitting by their desks and doing their personal errands. I think that technology helps monitor and put some kind of barrier on the total freedom in the workforce place.

  6. This is a great article. I have not worked for a company that has monitored me however I do know several people who’s companies do. For example, at my dads company he has a company phone, computer and satellite office. Although this may not seem to be a form of monitoring, it is in a subtle way. This alllows for my father to keep all of his personal and work life separate, which most employers try to establish. When most people here monitoring they believe it is an invasion of privacy, however they must remember that this comes with the territory and it is only for the protect and security of a company.

  7. Great post! I think that the word “monitoring” immediately makes people freak out. As an employer, I feel that it is your right to ensure that your assets are being properly taken care of. In this case assets can mean maintaining your computers and steering away from dangerous sites or having employees focus on the number one assets, the clients, because at the end of the day, if there are no clients, there is no business. Employees need to see this through the employers eyes and understand that they need to do their job while at work so that their job can continue to exist.

  8. Great post! I work for a company who monitors company provided devices, i.e. blackberries, tablets, and laptops. I feel that they should have some monitoring rights because they pay for those devices and when at work they pay for you to work, not to use the devices for personal reasons or do your online shopping at work all day. I think they would start to cross the line when they approach you about your personal business. If you’re not giving out company information then you should be fine. Everyone needs a break at work and I feel that surfing the web is ok as long as its not all day and you’re still getting your work done.

  9. Great post! I understand that employers want to keep tabs on certain things like making sure important information is kept safe and employees are doing their jobs but it should only reach a certain level. It’d make me feel a little uncomfortable knowing that my every move is being watched. At both my previous job we had cameras installed which was great because it was for security reasons but it made me a little uncomfortable knowing that I am constantly being watched. My co-worker was telling me how LP called her one time telling her to keep an eye on a suspicious customer, at the end of the conversation the lady from LP said “those earrings that your holding are really cute.” I thought it was crazy how technology has changed and how closely we can be monitored.

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