Workplace Surveillance

Like it or not, employers can monitor almost everything you do. It started with the first employee and has been a fact of life ever since. Monitoring worker performance is nothing new. Employers used to be satisfied with knowing how many hours you worked or how many widgets you made. Punching a time clock was all that was needed. Today, technology has created the ability to track and report on virtually all behavior in the work place.
Why do employers feel the need to track this level of detail? The answer is multifaceted, from legal liability concerns and theft to raising productivity and thwarting corporate espionage.
So how do employers monitor the workplace?
Video
Video monitoring is the most common form of workplace surveillance. Commonly seen in retail stores, video cameras can be trained on cash registers, in stock rooms or to view parking lots. And because these systems generally can record what they see, any wrong-doing can be captured on tape.
New video systems are capable of seeing in the dark. Using infrared light sources, specialized cameras can capture images not visible to the naked eye. This makes it possible to monitor storage rooms or other dark areas that might attract a dishonest employee.
Hiding video cameras has also become easier with the availability of a wide array of innocuous seeming products that house such a device. From clocks to books there are a variety of options designed to blend in with almost any surrounding.
Telephone/Voicemail
"This call may be monitored for customer service and training purposes." How many times have you heard that refrain while navigating your way through a phone system?
Often used for coaching purposes, listening in on phone conversations is a common practice in many industries. Handling difficult customer problems on the phone is no easy task and many employers find that listening to calls helps employees to improve. Call centers are typical users of this style of workplace monitoring.
E-Mail
So you zip off a torrid anti-boss e-mail to a co-worker to let off some steam. Who's the wiser? Or the family update you send to your sister once a week. What's the harm? And was that you who's been sending e-mail with the words "resume" or "job search" in them?
You can be almost certain that if an employer has an e-mail system, they have the ability to monitor it. There are sophisticated filtering tools that automate the process of e-mail monitoring, selecting only those communications that the company might deem in need of further review. Often these systems allow specific words or phrases to be searched for and the offending messages to be forwarded for review.
Smaller companies might not have this level of automation but often conduct this type of monitoring on an ad hoc basis. If they suspect that an employee might be misusing company resources such as an e-mail system, there are simple methods querying message logs to help allay or confirm their suspicions.
And, of course, don't be mislead into thinking that simply deleting a message hides it from curious eyes. Message history is often kept for years on line. And then can be archived virtually indefinitely off line.
Network Access
Sign on to your company's internal network and virtually everything you do can be tracked. From tracking every keystroke to a simple log of sign on time and sign off time, it's possible to capture whatever information an employer deems relevant while you are logged in.
Of course, not all workplace surveillance has a sinister slant. Employers who monitor computer activity may be trying to ascertain productivity bottlenecks or software issues.
Internet Usage
One of the thorniest of issues is tracking web usage. While there is no question that the web provides opportunities for most companies to access important information much more quickly than in the past, it also provides endless distractions.
The vast sea of objectionable material on the web has proved too tempting for some employees. Unfortunately for some employers this has lead to costly legal battles.
Most companies' networks attempt to filter out objectionable content. However, these systems aren't perfect and the web grows every day. So most also monitor the sites visited by their staff. Smaller companies might review this manually. Larger organizations put in place more elaborate and automated ways of sifting through this data to highlight the problems.
GPS Systems
So how did the company car accumulate all those miles? And isn't that a sombrero in the back seat?
Tracking the physical location of movable assets such as vehicles is the domain of Global Positioning Systems (GPS.) More commonly used for such things as marine navigation, GPS systems can also track just about anything for you.
One such product, from 'The Spy Company' called The GPS Log, can be attached to any metal surface and will broadcast its position to a web page. Or configure the device to send you an e-mail or a page at intervals for up to a 10 day period on a single charge. A more sophisticated model can even be setup to allow a car's ignition to be shut off or doors to be locked.
Legal Issues
Laws vary from state to state but some generalities seem to apply. The courts have given more weight to employers' rights to run their businesses than to employees' privacy. The courts have found that it is more important to allow a business to monitor communication and behavior than it is to grant employees freedom from this type of surveillance.
Some employers are open with their staff about the nature and extent of the monitoring that exists in the workplace. Others are not as forthcoming. And again, laws vary from state to state on what is required.
Corporate Policies
A good idea for any size company is a written policy outlining acceptable standards for using company property. In particular, policies concerning the use of the corporate computer network are critical. It is important to spell out what is and is not acceptable. Can employees use their e-mail account to send and receive personal mail during off hours? What is the consequence of violating corporate rules for Internet usage?
As worrisome as it is for many workers, workplace monitoring has become the rule rather than the exception.