Ethics of Workplace Privacy

Explain what right to privacy you believe an employee should enjoy at work.

In this age of technology development, a lot of issues relating to employee privacy are not covered by the law. Therefore, it is important for an employer to have the ability to discern what is ethical and what is not in relation to employee surveillance. Employees should enjoy the right to privacy when using their personal devices such as mobile phones and other internet devices. Even when using the work networks, they should not be monitored on what they do in their personal lives. However, it is ethical for employers to monitor their devices, such as workplace computers, emails, and telephones. Employees should be ethical enough not to use these devices for personal purposes to avoid an infringement on their privacy.

Describe what right to surveillance a company should have in watching over its employees it is paying and the property it owns. If you are not in management or do not own a company, consider what rights you would want for surveillance with regard to a nanny you hired to watch your child in your home.

            Employers should be able to monitor the devices that they provide their employees with within the workplace, such as mobile phones, telephones, computers, and their provided emails. Employers also have the right to monitor information for quality control and to protect their organizations, among other reasons (Nord, McCubbins, & Nord, 2006). However, when this monitoring is being done, the employees should be informed. For instance, when a nanny is being monitored at home, the employer should let them know that their actions will be monitored. This awareness helps them to protect information that they feel should be private.

Explain where you would draw the line with regard to workplace privacy, considering that the hardest ethical dilemmas to decide are ones that involve competing rights. Where to draw the line on workplace privacy

An employer can draw the line on privacy when employees are engaging in activities that are harmful to the business. While it is ethical to ensure the right to privacy is respected, employers also have the duty to protect their businesses from harm. For instance, if an employee is using work networks for personal reasons, exposing the business networks to cybercrime, then the employer has a right to intervene in this action and revoke the right to privacy.

References

Nord, G. D., McCubbins, T. F., & Nord, J. H. (2006). E-monitoring in the workplace: privacy, legislation, and surveillance software. Communications of the ACM, 49(8), 72-77.

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Discussion u7d1 Ethics of Workplace Privacy

Your text discusses the issue of workplace privacy. Currently, this is a very hot topic and it continues to be a contentious issue because technology is outpacing the law. New technologies for communication and new technologies for surveillance go beyond what the law has previously addressed.

Ethics of Workplace Privacy

In your post:

• Explain what right to privacy you believe an employee should enjoy at work.
• Describe what right to surveillance a company should have in watching over its employees it is paying and the property it owns. If you are not in management or do not own a company, consider what rights you would want for surveillance with regard to a nanny you hired to watch your child in your home.
• Explain where you would draw the line with regard to workplace privacy, considering that the hardest ethical dilemmas to decide are ones that involve competing rights.

Refer to the Discussion Participation Scoring Guide for posting expectations.

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