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Privacy at workplace Thinh, Vu Q tvu0193@student !ristoluniversity edu "ristol #niversity "#$ %%%& "usiness 'thics 0%()ct(*013

P+,V-./ -T 0)+1 P2-.' Privacy at workplace

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Privacy, no dou!t was the hottest topic in the # $ and around the glo!e after 'dward $nowden incident The 3uardian stated that, 4$nowden will go down in history as one of -5erica6s 5ost conse7uential whistle!lowers, alongside 8aniel 'lls!erg and "radley 9anning :e is responsi!le for handing over 5aterial fro5 one of the world6s 5ost secretive organi;ations < the =$- 1> The =$- has !een developed a 5ass surveillance progra5 to watch over load of countries around the world, hence evasion privacy 5assively :owever, there are de!ates that whether $nowden was a legendary whistle!lowers or the 5ost traitor of the # $? 4,65 willing to sacrifice all of that !ecause , can6t in good conscience allow the #$ govern5ent to destroy privacy, internet freedo5 and !asic li!erties for people around the world with this 5assive surveillance 5achine they6re secretly !uilding> < $aid $nowden * .onfident in his action, $nowden let all the controversy !ehind to support freedo5 :e was the !est de5onstration of hu5anity trying to reach 5ore freedo5 as well as privacy ,n this incidence, The # $ have destroyed the right of privacy, its conse7uence was 5assive ,t also raises the 7uestion on how privacy was 5anaged in other cooperation or glo!al co5pany Definite of privacy in workplace ,n order to answer the 7uestion is one has violated other privacy, we have to e@plore the relationship !etween two parties Thus, whether oneAs privacy is violated or not depends on one relationship with the person or persons who co5e to know that infor5ation ,n this paper, we only e@plored the view at workplace and this is e5ploy5ent relationship The nature of the e5ploy5ent relationship will help to deter5ine the appropriate !oundary !etween e5ployers and e5ployees -ccording to :art5an, 2 B 8esCardins, D , saying that e5ployee privacy is violate whenever EaF e5ployers infringe upon personal decision that are not relevant to the e5ploy5ent contract E whether the contact is i5plied or e@plicit F or E!F personal infor5ation that is not

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relevant to that contract is collected , stored or used without infor5ed consent of the e5ployee 3 . Gurther, since consent plays a pivotal role, the agree5ent on what infor5ation e5ployers can collect !eco5e 5aCor consideration on privacy violation Privacy approach difference between cultures Gro5 5y e@perience, culture could play a vital role on how the e5ployer 5onitors four areas of privacy as telephone calls, e(5ail 5essages, voice(5ail syste5 5essages and internet use -sian culture see5ed not !e serious consideration at privacy right of e5ployees or suppose that e5ployer as the payer force have the right to control privacy at work .ountry legal as the like of Vietna5 was stated 5ini5u5 a!out protecting the privacy of its citi;en and up to nothing on e5ployer 5onitoring e5ployee privacy 9eanwhile, 0estern approached to e5ployee privacy 5ore strictly !ack to 19HI with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1 !" #ECPA $ The -ct allows interception where consent has !een granted, so a fir5 that secures e5ployee consent to 5onitoring at the hiring ti5e could access to any personnel privacyJ -lthough, there is no federal law that prohi!its an e5ployer fro5 reading any e(5ail or co5puter file, there are several legal filed fro5 !oth sides regarding the privacy at work %eality e&ample 9y first e5ployer was a Dapanese co5pany, their working style !ased on long working hours and co55it5ent to the working progress 5ore than delivery result This culture leaded to closed 5anaging and 5onitoring !etween line 5anager and staff The 5onitoring sign show up everywhere, even in the way they designed office space, the Dapanese 5anager would sit in the top ta!le and all the co5puterAs 5onitor of e5ployees would face directly to his vision 0henever you had done anything privacy as sending private e5ail or using internet in working hour, he could o!serve all They also have policies on internet use and e5ail 5essage with for!idden staffs to take advantage of those serves for personal purposes The policy stated that

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the co5pany has the right to rando5 check on e5ail and internet use, failure to de5onstrate using for working reason could lead to so5e 5inor punish5ents -dditionally, internet use was definite only for searching the infor5ation relative to Co!, 5isusing for entertain5ent could !ring to ter5inate internet connection , still re5e5!er one 4fa5ous> speech of the :+ 5anager state that 4the co5pany paid 5oney to !uy H hours of your ti5e, so using it for your private 5atter was violated that why we have to put 5onitoring at work> -ccording to the legal standard of e5ployee 5onitoring for e5ail, 4#nder 5ost circu5stances, e5ployers 5ay 5onitor e5ployee e( 5ails 'ven in where the e5ployer clai5s that it will not, its right to 5onitor has !een upheld> %, , could say that the fir5 have not violated e5ployee privacy !y the legal Grankly, 5onitoring helped the e5ployer 5anaged their workplace to ensure productive perfor5ance !y prevent loss of productivity to inappropriate technology use 9onitoring was also used as a tool to co5pare perfor5ance !etween coworkers, hence help the e5ployee increasing perfor5ance and efficiency 9oreover, controlling action helped the line 5anager focused their staff toward the daily goal, eli5inated distraction and disruption :owever, une@pected result shows that staffs feel an increasing stress and pressure as they o!sessed a!out an invisi!le stare !ehind their !ack '5ployees tried to utili;e internet connection for personal purposes whenever the !oss went outside or off work Productivity and creativity decreased !ecause 5onitoring has !een used to deter5ine pay and pro5otion decision as well as disciplinary action The 5ost critical event happened in the crisis ti5e of the strike for increasing wage The fir5s used e5ail and telephone records to indentify and retaliation the leader of the strike .onse7uently, so5e e5ployees were fired afterward and lead to the 7uestion 4is this an ethical action?> -lthough, the incident was

went off and no legal filed occurring, , still found 5yself shocking with co5pany decision and resigned few weeks later +e(thinking the situation, , found e@tre5e opinions e@ist, the co5pany 5ay !elieve that e5ployees should si5ply 7uit if they do not want to !e 5onitored 0hile others

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!elieve in ulti5ate control over co55unications and other infor5ation could help 5a@i5i;e the perfor5ance, hence i5proving overall co5panyAs perfor5ance 2ately, , 5ove to a 'uro corporation, which 5ade 5e feeling differentia The western culture lean 5ore in working effective and delivery ulti5ate result than the process itself :ence, they let 5ore space and privacy for e5ployees to !e freely in creativity and increasingly productivity -k;o=o!el have !uilt a code of conduct, which e5phasis on privacy of personal data and co55unicating it widely The code said very detail 4-k;o=o!el recogni;es the i5portance of protecting personal data and has co55itted itself to a glo!al Privacy code of conduct -s an e5ployee, you are encouraged to read the Privacy code of conduct -k;o=o!el shall only process personal data for specified purposes, and in line with the provisions of the Privacy code of conduct Personal data will include na5e, ho5e address, social security nu5!er, perfor5ance appraisal data EPB8 8ialogF, et>I Privacy code of conduct was a well know and deeply instruction for all e5ployee over the world following up in case the local law could not cover the situation 4This .ode applies to the Processing of Personal 8ata wholly or partially !y auto5atic 5eans, and to the Processing otherwise than !y auto5ated 5eans of Personal 8ata which is stored Eor intended to !e storedF in a filing syste5, which is accessi!le according to specific criteria> < The Privacy code of conduct K Practically, the co5pany allows staffs to use internet and e5ail for all purposes as long as they do not touch so5e sensitive topics like pornography, racist or discri5ination The code has also !een agreed and takes part in our contract of e5ploy5ent This 5eans that we are allowed the co5pany to 5onitor our activities, which could !e the su!Cect of disciplinary action if we are using workplace e7uip5ent in ways that are not per5itted in our contract of e5ploy5ent Ginally, the code can a!solutely respect the interest of the e5ployee while also protecting the interest of the e5ployer Conclusion

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'5ployee 5onitoring presents !oth practical and legal dile55as The e5ployer currently has the legal environ5ent on his side as current laws provide little protection to 5onitored e5ployees :owever, e5ployers6 goals cannot !e attained without taking into account the hu5an effects of electronic 5onitoring Ee5ail, telephone calls, internet useLF '5ployers 5ust take care not to infringe on e5ployees6 privacy rights or to negative affect the health and welfare of e5ployees -lternative 5onitoring techni7ues should !e used whenever feasi!le #lti5ately, their goals should !e si5ilar to create a reasona!le working condition, an accepta!le stress levels and good relations with !oth sides Ginally, legislation 5ay !e needed to 5aintain control over e5ployers who a!use 5onitoring techni7ues -s technology advances, 5ore and 5ore sophisticated 5ethods of e5ployee 5onitoring will enter the workplace .onse7uently, the controversy over 5onitoring of e5ployees will al5ost certainly increase in the future

P+,V-./ -T 0)+1 P2-.' %eferences 1

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'dward $nowden& the whistle!lower !ehind the =$- surveillance revelations , Dune *013 http&MMwww theguardian co5MworldM*013MCunM09Medward(snowden(nsa(whistle!lower( surveillance

'dward $nowden& the whistle!lower !ehind the =$- surveillance revelations , Dune *013 http&MMwww theguardian co5MworldM*013MCunM09Medward(snowden(nsa(whistle!lower( surveillance

:art5an, 2 , B 8esDardins, D E*011F Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility E*nd ed F =ew /ork& 9c3raw(:ill :igher 'ducation, p *I3

:art5an, 2 , B 8esDardins, D E*011F Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility E*nd ed F =ew /ork& 9c3raw(:ill :igher 'ducation, p *%9

:art5an, 2 , B 8esDardins, D E*011F Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility E*nd ed F =ew /ork& 9c3raw(:ill :igher 'ducation, p *I1

-k;o =o!el .ode of .onduct , Privacy of personal data http&MMwww ak;ono!el co5Msyste5Mi5agesM-k;o=o!elN.odeNofN.onductNtc59(3IK% pdf

-k;o =o!el Privacy .ode of .onduct , http&MMwww ak;ono!el co5McocMsyste5Mi5agesM-k;o=o!elNPrivacyN.odeNofN.onductN' nglishNtc5IJ(1J9JI pdf