Monitoring Employees on Networks: Unethical or Good Business

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Monitoring Employees on NetworksUnethical or
Good Business?

• BCIS 340
• By Angela Kampsen

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Some statistics

• More than 25 of employee online time is spent on
  non work-related Web surfing.
• 90 of employees receive or send personal e-mail
  at work
• 77 of major U.S. companies keep tabs on
  employees by monitoring e-mail and/or phone calls
• 27 of employers have said they have fired an
  employee for misuse of office e-mail and 65 have
  taken disciplinary action for misuse of e-mail
• http//www.snapshotspy.com/employee-computer-abuse
  -statistics.htm

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Web surfing and personal e-mail use can cause
companies major problems

• Loss of time and employee productivity
• Too much personal traffic can shut down a server
  completely
• Lost revenue and overcharges to clients
• Anything employees do on the internet of through
  e-mail carries the companys name
• Because everything carries the companys name
  lawsuits and bad publicity can result
• Even if the lawsuit is won it costs the company
  money.

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Xerox

• Xerox is one example of a company that has had
  problems with their employees spending too much
  time on personal business
• At one point the entire e-mail system shut down
  because employees had been sending too many junk
  and pornographic e-mail over their server.
• In 1999 Xerox fired over 40 employees for
  inappropriate use of the Web

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What is the proper punishment?

• Many times companies will explain consequences
  when the employee is hired.
• Many of the consequences can include
• Being fired
• Being suspended for a certain period of time
• Have weekly or monthly reports on Internet and
  e-mail use
• Being demoted
• Etc

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Every employee deserves privacy

• Is it ethical to watch over employees and invade
  their privacy?
• Employees dont want to feel like someone is
  constantly looking over their shoulder
• There is less trust in the workplace

• There have been very few privacy laws put in
  place to protect employees
• If an employer sets guidelines to monitoring
  employees and goes against those guidelines, they
  are legally binding

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Employee Guidelines

• A majority of companies have put in place
  corporate policies on Internet and e-mail use.
• Usually the guidelines should include
• Explicit ground rules
• Under what circumstances can the employee use the
  company computers for personal use (i.e. breaks,
  lunchtime, etc.)
• They should explain which activities are
  monitored. Also how they are monitored and why.
• They need to be formed for specific
  organizations.
• Some organizations need access to certain
  websites fo their jobs.

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Some discussion questions.

• Is it ethical for employers to monitor employees
  e-mail accounts and internet use?
• Why or why not?
• What would a proper guideline be for monitoring
  employees?
• What would be an appropriate consequence for
  employees that disobey guideline?

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More websites..

• Electronic Privacy Information Centerwww.epic.org
  
• Privacy Rights Clearinghousewww.privacyrights.org
  
• Employee Monitoring http//www.employeemonitoring.
  net/aboutus.asp