IT Surveillance in the Workplace

Paper Summary:

This research paper attempts to ascertain whether the pervasive workplace monitoring in today's businesses and organizations is effective in nature and whether this pervasive monitoring of employees is really needed and furthermore the ultimate driver of this surveillance. It concludes that findings have shown that stress, high tension, headaches and extreme anxiety as well as depression, anger, severe fatigue and musculoskeletal problems are derivatives of the impact of electronic surveillance in the workplace. While employers do have the right to conduct monitoring in the workplace and this certainly has been the case in historically and traditionally, there are considerations of the employer and laws and regulations that are necessary to ascertain information on the part of the manager in order to be in compliance on the part of the organization.

Outline:
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Methodology
Literature Review
Summary of the Literature Review
Findings of the Study
Recommendations

From the Paper:

"The work of Patrick W. Schmitz entitled: "Workplace Surveillance, Privacy Protection, and Efficiency Wages" published in the Labor Economics journal (2004) states that workplace surveillance technology is infiltrating the employee's daily environment. It has been estimated that in the United States more than twenty million workers were subject to electronic monitoring in 1993 that companies spent more than $1 billion on monitoring software in 1996, and that by now 80 percent of US corporations keep their employees under regular surveillance." This is stated to be accomplished through the use of "...video cameras, telephone taping devices, and computer monitoring systems." (Schmitz, 2004) This is not all, in addition, email and voice communication may be archived and searched as well as can keystrokes and it is even possible for employers to "track the amount of time employees spend away from their computers." "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Acespy. (2005). Monitor and Control Your Entire Network From ANYWHERE! (August) Acespy.com, [cited August 24 2005]. http://www.acespy.com/net-spy-pro-details.html
• ACLU Special Report. "Surveillance Incorporated: American Workers Forfeit Privacy for a Paycheck." Rights to Privacy. Robert Emmet Long, Ed. New York: The H.W. Wilson Co., 1997.
• Adams, J.C., (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In Berkowitz, L., Ed., Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 2. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, p267-299.
• ADT. (2005). Retail Security - Electronic article surveillance (EAS) ADT plc, [cited August 18 2005]. http://www.adt.co.uk/retail_overview.html
• Aiello, J.R. (1993). Computer-based work monitoring : Electronic surveillance and its effects. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23(7), 499-507.

More papers on IT Surveillance in the Workplace:

• Research Paper # 73191 : "Surveillance In The Workplace"
• Persuasive Essay # 103877 : "Privacy in the Workplace"
• Analytical Essay # 123354 : "Violence in the Workplace"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: