Remote Employee Monitoring – An Introductive Guide
Because it enables managers to track hours worked, equipment used, internet activity, and the progress on various projects, remote employee monitoring has become an important prerequisite for successful business management.
While many employers consider the underlying costs of using computer surveillance tools worthwhile compared to the financial loss of wasted time, some businesses find themselves in the position to cut back on their technology costs and say no to surveillance software. This doesn’t mean they don’t monitor their employee’s internet traffic at all – instead, they just focus on the technologies that are already within their reach.
In most companies, all of the employee’s working stations connect to the system administrator’s computer. This makes it easy for the system administrator to access any computer remotely when needed, most commonly in the events of application or operation-related problems. But remote access also enables the system administrator to read log files, as well as check emails, website visits, and downloads – even those that the user might believe no longer exist on the hard drive.
What this means is that even though an employee tries to cover his or her tracks by deleting personal emails, downloads and other files, their employer may still know how they spent their day by having the system administrator check system log files.
Remote Employee Monitoring and the Rights to Privacy
Whatever type of monitoring or surveillance an employer may use to keep an eye on their staff’s internet usage during working hours, you should take note that sometimes the rights to privacy may not apply to workplace surveillance. Common sense would be for an employer to provide some sort of notice if computer use is monitored, and in fact, most employers do provide such notice, either direct or implied.
Direct notice, either spoken or written, is obvious. Implied monitoring, on the other hand, is more a question of nuance. For instance, it would be safe to assume that if a manager has restricted internet access or has system administrators with remote access, computer use could be monitored.
As concerns the issue of legal rights, current US laws only prohibit employers to intercept email while in transit, not to read it before sending or once it has been received. The law also interdicts the gathering of personal information such as bank account and credit card information. Although workplace surveillance commonly generates legal issues, most court rulings tend to favor employers because the measures they take are aimed at protecting their business – their private property. In light of that, an employer is perfectly entitled to reprimand an employee for inappropriate or abusive internet use.
Conclusion
All things considered, proper use of the internet at work is the employee’s responsibility. Most employers will not oppose the occasional personal phone call or email, but if you spend more time checking out online retailers, watching videos and sharing jokes than you do carrying out your job duties, don’t be surprised if your employer gives you the axe one day.
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