With the advancements in technology, companies comprehensively resort to the use of all the "e" facilities like Internet access, network systems, voice mail, e-mail, mobiles, pagers etc., to have a competitive edge in business arena. But, the advent of this technology has created new concerns about employee privacy. "It is always the latest song that the audience applauds the most," said Homer. But, Cicero differs and says, "Nothing quite new is perfect." Applicably, so it is with technology. While technological advance brings broad smiles on the faces of all those who depend on it for their business welfare and business style, the same evokes moans of despair and dejection among a dense stratum of society, namely the `employees' in the very commonly known sense.
With advancements in technology, to have a competitive edge in business arena, many `workplaces,' per force, comprehensively resort to the use of all the "e" facilities like Internet access, network systems, voice mail, e-mail, mobiles, pagers etc. Judicious use of these facilities enables a business entity to take timely decisions by having easier access to information, personnel and clientele. But, thoughtless use creates new concerns that slowly assume the hue and dimensions of an invasion of what is commonly spoken of as `employee privacy.'
`Employee privacy' has been defined by the American Civil liberties Union in its report published through its National Task Force on Civil Liberties in US. It says, "The word `privacy' means many different things to different people. One widely accepted meaning, however, is the right to be left alone. The framers of our Constitution and Bill of Rights certainly embraced that meaning, especially with regard to the sanctity of family life." A website touching upon the issue of `employee privacy' reports that a US Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis, has also mentioned that "the right most valued by the American people was the right to be left alone." |
