Employee Monitoring

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Employee Monitoring

• Computer Monitoringa. prevalence and rangeb. HR
  responses
• Beyond Computer Monitoring at Work
• Monitoring Off Duty Behavior

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But before we get to this

• We have our last student presentation

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E-mail

• Raise your hand if you have ever used e-mail to
  send or receive
• Jokes (pc or not pc) on your university account?
• Complain about a teacher/ class/ classmate?
• Did recreational surfing at a UIUC computer
  lab(or using our wireless connection)?

4
2005 Electronic Monitoring
Surveillance Survey from American Management
Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute.
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E-Mail

• E-mails belong to your employer
• The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
  gives employers the legal right to protect
  themselves by monitoring ALL e-mail and internet
  activities on company systems

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Computer Monitoring (Wen Gershuny, 2005)

• 76 of U.S. companies monitor workers Website
  connections
• 65 use software to block connections to
  inappropriate Websites

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What Employers Can Track (Wen Gershuny, 2005)
Brief Description
Monitoring Capability
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What Employers Can Track (Wen Gershuny, 2005)
Brief Description
Monitoring Capability
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Pros and Cons of Computer Monitoring (Raphael,
2005 Wen Gershuny, 2005)
(-)
()

• Productivity (60.7 of employees use Internet for
  personal use ave 1.35 hours a day)
• Information (e.g., disloyal employees)
• Reputation
• Liability (e.g., sexual harassment companies
  responsible even before complaints are made!)

• Productivity
• Adverse health risks (e.g., depression, anger,
  fatigue, musculoskeletal problems, carpal tunnel)
  ? increase in sick leave
• Negative culture change

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Blogs

• Mini Microsoft http//minimsft.blogspot.com/
• It's just that Microsoft has grown way too much
  (resulting in increased management and
  bureaucracy) and has promoted untalented,
  uninspiring people upwards. New hires find
  themselves unable to have as big an impact as
  they have in the past, and might overhear
  managers wandering the hall reflecting on how
  most employees are cogs and easily replaceable
  (if you end up sitting in my hallway).

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HR Responses to Trashing on the Web (Caudron,1999)

• Do nothing
• Take legal action
• Utilize the information as honest feedback

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Talking out

• Do you think employee e-mail should be
  monitored?
• If so, what restrictions (if any) would you
  impose?

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HR and Employee Monitoring(Wofford Wynne,
Wen Gershuny, 2005)

• Set expectations notify employees that they may
  be monitored (all types)
• Determine the following
• What material should and should not be accessed
  (i.e. what is appropriate)?
• How much personal time should be allowed?
• When should employees be (or not be) online (to
  prevent bandwidth bottlenecks)?

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HR and Employee Monitoring(Wofford Wynne,
Wen Gershuny, 2005)

• Formulate policies
• e-mail (sending and receiving) chatroom use--
  and remind employees that e-mail is NOT a casual
  form of communication!
• Employees should be expected to report misconduct
• Note some organizations believe that the policy
  should be NO or highly limited monitoring (e.g.,
  SAS who just monitors for pornography)

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Beyond Computer Monitoring

• Telephone monitoring
• Video monitoring
• GPS monitoring
• Accentures Visual Location Awareness Tool

http//www.mindfully.org/Technology/2005/Worker-Ra
dio-Surveillance7jun05.htm
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Telephone Monitoring (2005 AMA survey)

• 57 of organizations block employee access to 900
  lines and other unauthorized phone numbers
• The number of employers who monitor the amount of
  time employees spend on the phone and track the
  numbers called has jumped to 51, up from 9 in
  2001
• In 2001, 9 of companies recorded workers phone
  calls. Today, 19 tape the calls of employees in
  selected job categories, and another 3 record
  and review all employees phone chat

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Video Monitoring

• 51 of surveyed companies in 2005 use video
  monitoring to counter theft, violence and
  sabotage
• 10 now videotape selected job categories and 6
  videotape all employees to track employees
  on-the-job performance.

Video SurveillanceA video monitoring system can
help deter shoplifting and employee theft,
provide activity records for hard-to-monitor
areas, and document events to protect your
business against fraudulent liability claims.
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Video Monitoring HR Guidelines (workforce.com)

• Privacy rights -- Avoid cameras in areas where
  employees would expect privacy (e.g., lounge,
  bathrooms) try to limit monitoring to the
  workplace
• Notify employees (15 of companies fail to do so)
  put policies in your handbook
• Always be mindful of changing legal environment
  (state and federal) train your managers

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GPS Monitoring

• 8 using GPS to track company vehicles
• 8 using GPS to monitor employee ID/Smartcards.

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Talking out

• Why do you think monitoring is increasing so
  rapidly?
• How far should you go (e.g., telephone, video,
  GPS, other) ?
• What do you think of it as a HR practice?

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Should Organizations Have a Say in Non-Work
Activities?

• At will employment makes it legal to fire people
  for many reasons, but should you fire someone
  for
• Personal computing habits?
• Drug monitoring?

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Should Organizations Have a Say in Non-Work
Activities?

• What about other off-duty behavior?
• Making dirty movies at home?
• Base jumping?
• Where do you draw the line?

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Talking out

• What do you think about employers monitoring
  employees off-duty behavior?
• When (if ever) might it be justified?

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Wrapping Up

• New technologies make it possible for employers
  to monitor many aspects of their employees' jobs,
  especially on telephones, computer terminals,
  through electronic and voice mail, and when
  employees are using the Internet. Such monitoring
  is virtually unregulated. Therefore, unless
  company policy specifically states otherwise (and
  even this is not assured), your employer may
  listen, watch and read most of your workplace
  communications. http//www.privacyrights.org/fs/f
  s7-work.htm
• However, even if you can monitor everything
  this doesnt mean you should. Think carefully
  about your policy about what and when you want to
  monitor and communicate this policy to your
  employees (and as an employee never assume that
  a conversation at work is private!)

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Questions?

• about the final exam?