Business and Marketing: Describe Privacy in the Workplace

Name:
Institution/Affiliation:
Date:
Privacy in workplace
Privacy is the condition to enjoy seclusion from the view of others. Everyone is entitled to the right to privacy under the constitution. Privacy in the workplace, however, takes a new dimension due to nature and conditions associated with the operations of an organization. Under the employees’ rights, each employee is allowed to a certain degree the freedom to live privately and the organizational rules should structure their policies based on that foundation. Workplace privacy has been a hotly debated topic as to the extent to which employers can intrude their employees’ privacy. Many employers have specific policies that govern privacy intrusion of their workforce. All new recruits must agree to those policies for them to be allowed to join the workforce. In this article, some of the issues arising from privacy in the workplace are discussed in detail. The main focus is on the extent to which employers should intrude their employees’ privacy.
Employers have harnessed technology to ensure that their employees maintain productivity while in their workstations. The electronic monitoring methods used in workplace intrude the employee privacy. Electronic devices are some of the main distracters to employees in workplaces and they affect their performance which amounts to ‘stealing’ of employer’s time CITATION Mbo15 \l 1033 (Mboga, 2015). Employers, therefore, resort to monitoring the use of electronic in the workplace and during working hours to protect their interests. Telephone conversations with family and friends not only distract the rest of the workforce but also can adversely affect the performance of a person and therefore some employers regulate the use of a telephone in working environment.
On the other hand, electronic monitoring also ensures that the privacy of the organization’s trade secrets or confidential information is not leaked. The employer can sue his/her employees for the intrusion of his/her privacy and access confidential information. Emails and use of social networks also fall under electronic monitoring. Many companies have private mail servers which are monitored closely. If the employees handle sensitive information the calls can be recorded or tapped to ascertain that they do not give out organizational secrets. Other email providers are blocked from access from within the organizational network. Email services are closely monitored by the organization and it raises questions about employee privacy. It is understandable since employers ought to be worried about the safety of organizational secrets and employee productivity.
CCTV surveillance has also been added to the electronic monitoring methods used by employers on their employees. They monitor their movement, activitie...