Some organizations have the technology to monitor all the electronic activities of its staff, from e-mail to keystrokes. Is this acceptable?

Privacy is an equivocal issue in contemporary times, especially in a world where people are becoming more and more comfortable leading their lives through more modern technology such as the World Wide Web and the Internet. Companies nowadays can monitor exactly what their employees partake in on the Internet, and they do - 77% of them. This action is not without warrant as the company has its best interests as well at the interests of all its employees in mind, but is it really necessary to go as far as reading personal e-mails? The employer's ethics of privacy and the involvement of the law should be challenged in order to contrive possible solutions to the problem of infringement of privacy in the workplace.

The reason companies monitor employees is because they are concerned with whether or not the workplace is a safe and productive environment. A host of problems may arise with the misuse of privileges granted by a company with regards to the Internet - the most significant being the loss of productivity.

English: United States Supreme Court building in W...

The United States Supreme Court.

privacy

How much money is a company losing when John Doe browses the Internet and 30-40% of this is not related to work? Not only this, but other issues are raised as well, such as safety. In a survey conducted by Elron Software of Burlington, Massachusetts, one in five employees receives at least one potentially offensive e-mail per month. There is no doubt that companies hold a certain amount of justification in their actions, however, the perspective of the employee must be taken into account as well. Is all this snooping really necessary on behalf of the company? It is ludicrous to think that someone could be behind your shoulder, watching everything you do at work, but this is the case. "Employers who monitor Web...