Employee monitoring
Encyclopedia
Employee monitoring refers to any method of tracking what an employee does while at work. This may include the use of video camera
s, keystroke logging
, email filters, or even just watching or listening to the employee. As a result of increased technology, this has become a very important issue in the workplace. Employers have many options at their disposal when it comes to monitoring their employees, but the effectiveness and legality of each technique varies depending on the situation.
software to search for content which may violate the policies of the employer. Often E-mails which are flagged by the filtering software will be then reviewed by a human to verify the validity of the E-mail content. Employees often consider E-mail scanning to be an invasion of privacy
, but in many situations, employment contracts are written to give the employer permission to use it without legal repercussions.
equipment. Video feeds of employee activities are fed back to a central location where they are either recorded or monitored live by another person.
Employee surveillance may lead to an executive's decision on whether to promote or demote and employee or in some cases even fire them.
Different techniques can be used, e.g. employees' cell phone or Mobile phone tracking
.
, it is illegal to perform invasive monitoring, such as reading an employee's emails, unless it can be shown that it is a necessary precaution and there are no other alternatives .
The following uses of employee information are generally considered legal:
Video camera
A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...
s, keystroke logging
Keystroke logging
Keystroke logging is the action of tracking the keys struck on a keyboard, typically in a covert manner so that the person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored...
, email filters, or even just watching or listening to the employee. As a result of increased technology, this has become a very important issue in the workplace. Employers have many options at their disposal when it comes to monitoring their employees, but the effectiveness and legality of each technique varies depending on the situation.
E-mail Scanning
E-mail scanning is a process in which incoming and outgoing mail passes through E-mail filteringE-mail filtering
Email filtering is the processing of email to organize it according to specified criteria. Most often this refers to the automatic processing of incoming messages, but the term also applies to the intervention of human intelligence in addition to anti-spam techniques, and to outgoing emails as well...
software to search for content which may violate the policies of the employer. Often E-mails which are flagged by the filtering software will be then reviewed by a human to verify the validity of the E-mail content. Employees often consider E-mail scanning to be an invasion of privacy
E-mail privacy
The protection of email from unauthorized access and inspection is known as electronic privacy. In countries with a constitutional guarantee of the secrecy of correspondence, email is equated with letters and thus legally protected from all forms of eavesdropping.In the United States, privacy of...
, but in many situations, employment contracts are written to give the employer permission to use it without legal repercussions.
Data Entry, Phone Work, And Retail
Monitoring systems can automatically count every keystroke of data-entry and data-processing clerks. Similarly, workers who answer telephone calls all day are monitored in detail. The exact number and duration of each call, and the idle time between calls, can go into an automatic log for analysis.Video Surveillance
One of the most effective forms of employee monitoring is through the use of Video surveillanceClosed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
equipment. Video feeds of employee activities are fed back to a central location where they are either recorded or monitored live by another person.
Location Monitoring
For employees that do not work in a static location, supervisors may chose to track their location. Common examples of this are delivery and transportation industries. In some of these cases the employee monitoring is incidental as the location is tracked for other purposes, such as determining the amount of time before a parcel will be delivered, or which taxi is closest.Employee surveillance may lead to an executive's decision on whether to promote or demote and employee or in some cases even fire them.
Different techniques can be used, e.g. employees' cell phone or Mobile phone tracking
Mobile phone tracking
Mobile phone tracking refers to the attaining of the current position of a mobile phone, stationary or moving. Localization may occur either via multilateration of radio signals between radio towers of the network and the phone, or simply via GPS...
.
Legal issues
In CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, it is illegal to perform invasive monitoring, such as reading an employee's emails, unless it can be shown that it is a necessary precaution and there are no other alternatives .
The following uses of employee information are generally considered legal:
- Find needed business information when the employee is not available.
- Protect security of proprietary information and data.
- Prevent or investigate possible criminal activities by employees.
- Prevent personal use of employer facilities.
- Check for violations of company policy against sending offensive or pornographic email.
- Investigate complaints of harassment.
- Check for illegal software.