17
votes
Do companies have an ethical (not legal) obligation to disclose how they track employees?
Companies can technically and legally track just about everything you do at work digitally, from your entire browser history to even particular usage patterns on company web apps. Should there be an expectation that companies disclose what they do/do not track to employees? Or should employees have to just live with the fact that companies can and will spy on them as a cost of doing business?
Yes, they should make their tracking not only known to their employees, but conspicuous.
Easily visible cameras. Thorough explainations of personal tracking devices (like what Amazon uses on some of its employees). Clear guidelines on data retention, where it goes, etc.
I have quit a job for not being honest about how they tracked me- I was given a company phone, and they were tracking me during my off time without telling me.
I quit with zero notice, in the middle of the day. I do not care about burning bridges with dishonest employers.
So please, be honest with your employees about this. If you're having issues hiring people, then perhaps it is you or your business that needs to change.
If you can't trust your employees to do their job, then why are you even hiring people in the first place?
I think this is an argument where the concept of organizational justice from IO Psychology would be applicable. Organizational justice can be thought of as a judgement by an employee on the behavior of an organization and the employees reaction to it. There are three types: distributive, interactional, and procedural. The most applicable one to this situation is interactional justice which refers to the treatment that an individual receives as decisions are made and can be promoted by providing explanations for decisions and delivering the news with sensitivity and respect.
You are right that a company has the right to monitor and track but without having the dialog of "Why?", you run the risk of having your organization be perceived as unfair or unjust. This can lead employees to participating in counterproductive work behaviors like incivility, loafing, etc. As a form of retaliation.
If you would like to learn more, check out the wikis for both!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_justice?wprov=sfla1
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterproductive_work_behavior?wprov=sfla1
So what is the legal situation, at least in the US? Do they have any obligation to disclose anything?
I always recommend using a VPN if your employer doesn't block it. Sometimes it can be tricky to do if you are using a company resource.
I once overheard head of HR mention they pay a third party to report holders of certain positions looking for work outside the company. I am in IT, so I tend to hear and see stuff way above me.. I have never repeated anything until now. But honestly, my company really cares, so I see it more of them wanting to make sure people are happy. Obviously there is more to it.
Company equipment is exactly that - there should be the expectation that everything you do on a corporate network is logged and monitored for security and compliance reasons.
I'm in favour of a clear demarcation between personal and business activity, personal stuff should take place on your own devices.
I wouldn't call the business stuff "spying" if the mutual understanding is that only non-personal activity is being done on the corporate network.