Question

do you think that the company is wise to monitor employees in this matter? why or why not?

Answer 1

The company is very wise to monitor communication and internet use within the firm. For that, it protects the employees. For instance, if one employee were to bring a sexual harassment complaint against his or her manager, the firm can quickly go back through any emails that were sent between the two. If there was a problem, it will often be exposed in the communication between these two. Since email is such a huge part of business communication in today’s market, flags can often be spotted in these communication. Also, if an employee were giving away or disclosing company secrets, having access to the employee’s email may be the only sign that something is wrong. In sexual harassment cases where there are allegations of a hostile environment, these could be caused by images found online. If an employee is unethical in one aspect of his or her work, it will often appear in other areas, as well. The employee’s time as well as the computers and network are bought and paid for by the company. The company has every right to ensure those resources are being used appropriately. To protect against invasion-of-privacy claims, the company must ensure it is only monitoring company resources.