CONFLICTS OVER PRIVACY IN THE WORKPLACE

Companies should have the right to track employees through company smartphones
and monitor their personal Facebook and twitter accounts.

In my point of view an companies should have the right to track their employees through
monitoring their social media accounts & smartphones. It is important for both employer
and employee that social media use be monitored and things are kept professional from both
sides. An employer would not want that his employee to leave work and bad mouth the
company to all their online friends. Companies monitor their employees to ensure that no
harm is being done within workplace. When a company monitor an employee social media
accounts, they are not only protecting themselves but also their employees as well. It is
important to be aware of what your employees are posting on the internet because posts can
travel so fast via web that it can potentially promote or destroy company within minutes.
Monitoring not only help company to keep on track but also used as a way of recruitment for
companies.

Companies can monitor their employees in following ways:

 Computer surveillance: a type of computer software program that enable employer

to view what an employee is doing on particular computer. This software installed in
all computer systems. In a company and it allows an employer to monitor which
websites an employee is using, potentially see E-mails & keep track of the number of
keystrokes per hour.
 Company equipment surveillance: any equipment given to employees from
company such as laptops and tablets etc are also require surveillance. This is done to
ensure that devices that are offered are not being misused.

Employees should be able to maintain their personal privacy and not be tracked
through their company smartphones or their Facebook and twitter accounts.

The ethical inferences of monitoring an employee's social media are high to risk
monitoring. It is the right of employees to keep private facts about themselves confidential
and the right to some degree of personal space.

Ethical culture made by a company exists in a manner to reflect the integrity of

decisions made. A company that monitors an employee's activities without an
employee's knowledge or a loose contract that the employee signed to remove any
rights from privacy is a violation of truthfulness. The ethical implications of
monitoring social media deal with the values and norms that have been established.
The company displays a lack of trust to its employees when observing 24/7
employees' private life outside of work. Monitoring is a "fishing expedition."
Employees' personal lives are their right, and when an employer fishes for any
display of negative behavior to discredit an employee creates a conflict of interest. The
ethical culture established, with the values and principles Employers should have the
ability to trust an employee to enhance their performance, trust, productivity, and
truthfulness. Workers trust their employers with a lot of personal information, such as their
home address and social security number, so the employer must ensure this information is
protected. Employers must make sure their companies have the proper storage and
protection in place.

How to protect information:

1. Store and protect personal information

2. Set strict policies and procedures
3. Educate employees on identity theft
4. Offer identity theft protection as an employee benefit