Have you ever gotten upset at someone for looking through your belongings? It may not necessarily be because what the person saw was confidential or embarrassing, it may be the fact that the person should have asked you before they invaded your space. This is a fairly common reaction and I think it is because we expect others to respect our privacy, especially in our own home and with our personal effects.
With today’s technology, many businesses are able to have employees work from home, have company computers and/or phones. This muddles the line between an employee’s personal life and work life a little more, particularly when a company allows an employee to use a work phone or computer for personal use. The big question is, how far can an employer go to monitor their employees? And when does it, if at all, violate an employee’s Fourth Amendment right?
I want to take a special look at a tool called WorkSmart, which is talked about by Mike Rogoway in his article titled “Jive's Buyer Responds to Employee Anxiety Over Workplace Monitoring Tool”. WorkSmart is a management tool that can be used to collect data on employees in order to figure out areas of weakness and then the manager can implement a plan to improve his/her/their employees. It is capable of tracking an employee’s location, keystrokes, and anything else the employee does on the computer. Also, it can capture a webcam picture at any time. These abilities can be useful in creating a team of employees who are more efficient, to find employees who have been slacking off, and to deter employees from not doing their job correctly, however, it also feels incredibly intrusive. This may lead to an employee feeling like there is no trust between the employee and the employer, which will lead to a decrease in productivity and the possibility of a higher turnover rate. An employer has to determine if the information derived from the data collected is worth the negative feelings from the employees or if there is any way to communicate to the employees that they are trusted, and that don’t need to feel like they are being watched every second of every day.
The last piece of technology I want to talk about is the wrist tracker that Amazon has patented. The way Thuy Gng describes them in his article titled “Amazon Patents Wristbands that Track Warehouse Employees’ Hands in Real Time“, makes them sound like more humane shock collars that vibrate then shock the employee who goes the wrong way. This wristband has GPS tracking on it, so an employer has the ability to know where an employee is at, at all times, while the employee is wearing the wristband. Amazon disputes the negative reaction to the wristband by saying many warehouse workers use scanners while working to assist in filling orders and knowing stock on hand and so having the capabilities of the scanner in this wristband will be helpful to the employee. Maybe the more humane shock collar is not as useless and dehumanizing as I originally thought. I think I would have to experience working in a large warehouse to understand if the wristband would be helpful or a way for technology to micromanage the way I work.
Both of the above technologies provide an employer with a way to monitor their employees without physically being near the employee. This is helpful because an employer is typically extremely busy and may not have the time to monitor their employees like they should. I see the benefits of this, but I also know it is going to take some time to get used to. Right now, I feel that these technologies are very intrusive and I think it is a mindset thing. If I took the time to find the information to think about it differently and in the perspective of the employers, I may feel differently, but I don’t know. How do you feel about technologies like this? Comment down below with your opinions and stop by in another couple of weeks to read about a different IT topic!
- The IT Girls
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Posted by: Lisa
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