Big boss is watching

TalkBack 11 of 95:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Not necessarily. There are boundaries.

First, you are not the company's property. Your employer has a lot of rights, but there are boundaries. For example, what you do in the company restroom is your own business and not your boss's, even though you're going on company time and the company owns the restroom. Your boss doesn't get the right to know everything that you do when you're in the office, so why should he or she get the right to know everything you do when you're outside the office?

Second, if you have a salaried job, drawing an official line between "your time" vs. "company time" is not trivial in many circumstances. This is particularly true, for example, if you are taking a trip away from the office. I do not think it is appropriate for the employer to automatically get "the benefit of the doubt" regarding whose time it is. There is still such thing as "your own time", even though you are salaried.

Third, there are huge problems if the company is tracking you with YOUR OWN cell phone, regardless of any other circumstances. If its a phone the company provides under company expense, then that's one thing. But if the company is using this technology on your personal cell phone, that's a completely different, and unacceptable, matter.

Ultimately, the relationship between employer and employee requires a bit of trust and this type of intrusive technology simply takes that trust away. There is incredible room for abuse here-- everyone looks at the employee being the one trying to dodge responsibility, but employers are no angels either. I can see corrupt bosses using this technology to track employees WAY outside company business and there's not a lot an employee can do about it. That's why the employee has the right to be suspicious now. The accountability has to go both ways.

Cheers!

Posted by: Root User   Posted on: 09/24/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now
• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now