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Running Head: DIGITAL PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN THE WORKPLACE 1

Digital Privacy and Security in the Workplace: Mutually Exclusive?

Alexandra Huechteman

The University of Alabama


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Digital Privacy and Security in the Workplace: Mutually Exclusive?

Introduction

Electronic forms of communication such as email, instant messaging, and social media

can be used in the workplace as means of increased efficiency and productivity. The ability to

retrieve, store, and share data within seconds across an office or across the globe grants new

opportunities for business while freeing employees time. In the professional world, this is a

competitive and highly sought after operation model many businesses heavily rely on the

electronic transactions for success. Despite advantages of technology and coalescence offered by

the Internet, there exists a new gray area between the extent of employer surveillance and

granting individual privacy. While companies argue that electronic monitoring protects against

potential liability risks and profit loss, employees often feel that their personal messages and

emails inherently deserve seclusion from higher-ups (Eivazi, 2011).

Surveillance Breeds Productivity and Protection: The Employer View

According to Kathy Eivazi, multiple workplaces rely on electronic communication and

Internet usage more than other typical modes such as telephones or fax (2011). Businesses have

seen positive outcomes from the use of electronics, and notably even the use of personal devices

on company interfaces. In a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, allowing employees to use their

own electronic device instead of issuing a company version saw benefits in productivity,

employee retention, and of course outright operational costs (Hovav & Putri, 2016).

Unfortunately because of misuse on personal and work devices, companies face legal and

ethical ramifications and thus many have resulted to electronic monitoring (Chory, Vela, &

Avtgis, 2016). This sense of preventative digital surveillance heightened after an example was
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made of Sony Pictures Entertainment they suffered a massive cyberattack that disseminated

employee information, work policies, and questionable personal emails (Chory et al., 2016).

Security studies have shown that most breaches occur within an organization,

necessitating some form of intervention and disciplinary protocol (Hovav & Putri, 2016). To

illustrate, the American Management Association [AMA] found that 14% of employees had e-

mailed confidential information to people outside the company (as cited in Chory et al., 2016). In

response, businesses implement digital policies, usually in the name of productivity monitoring

(Chory et al., 2016). Employee productivity is paralleled to a companys financial gain, and

surveys have shown that benign email exchanging and Internet surfing proves to be a powerful

time-wasting mechanism (Eivazi, 2011). A survey by Career Builder found that 61% of

employees engage in personal email while working. This excessive online traffic, i.e. use of

high-speed professional networks for personal use not limited to just email, can also suppress

available bandwidth (Chory et al., 2016). Employers even argue with online oversight, they can

ensure smooth running of the business, as failure to do so could allow for damage to the network

system and therefore a net loss (Eivazi, 2011).

The aforementioned risks prompt companies to dig to varying depths within its

employees digital activity, but not without backlash regarding civil liberties and individual

freedom.

Promoting Privacy, Fighting for Fairness: The Employee View

Workers and management alike agree that protecting an organizations information and

reputation is paramount to preventing lawsuits, loss, or public defamation. In a large survey of

full-time working adults, many alluded to the fact that while they may accept digital workplace

monitoring, they also expected privacy in the workplace two concepts that often appear to be
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mutually exclusive. Privacy invasion is considered to be a loss of control over personal

interactions and information, and the extent of this infringement propagates employee attitudes

against surveillance policies (Chory et al., 2016).

The majority of critics contend that workers dignity and privacy rights are compromised

by surveillance and monitoring as a whole (Chory et al., 2016). Some of the loudest public

criticism compares George Orwells 1984 and the television series Big Brother to continuous

digital monitoring as well as concerns over employer misuse of personal data (Eivazi, 2011). As

companies make a conscious effort to increase productivity, Chory et al. suggest that the

opposite could happen as a result of increased employee stress and decreased job satisfaction

(2015). Posey et al. found that adding surveillance to personal device use at work increased

employees feelings of privacy encroachment and decreased justice, causing reactive or defiant

behavior (as cited in Havov & Putri, 2016). Lowry and Moody note that this defiance reduces

intent to adhere to employers expectations of digital behavior (as cited in Havov & Putri, 2016).

Prominent Issues

There are multiple examples of cited e-mail misconduct in the workplace setting.

CareerBuilders survey on workplace behavior found that more than half of office workers admit

to using e-mail at work for personal conversation, and nearly 80% had used it to gossip (Chory et

al., 2016). The American Management Association found that 9% of workers in 2009 used email

to send sexual or pornographic material on their work e-mail accounts, and 89% used e-mail to

send jokes or slander about colleagues to non-employees (Chory et al., 2016). These are the

types of infractions companies are still working to mitigate and entirely prevent but it is

arguable as to how much prying is too much.


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Some businesses allowing personal devices to be used for work purposes are currently

seeking to increase awareness of employee rights and responsibilities regarding accessible

company assets and the potential ensuing consequences. These educational programs are also

important as employees underestimate the threat of personal devices becoming externally

compromised (Havov & Putri, 2016).

Conclusion

The proportion of businesses that do monitor workplace digital communication varies

between studies. For example, in 2007 the AMA found that 43% of companies had surveillance

programs for email through automated software or hired security personnel (as cited in Chory et

al., 2016). In 2011, CareerBuilder found that around 50% of employers tracked Internet and e-

mail activities, and only 28% had e-mail monitoring (as cited in Chory et al., 2016). As

technology continues to purvey business advantages, an agreeable balance of privacy and

prevention of loss or slander must consider the ever-increasing use of digital communication.
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References

Chory, R., Vela, L., & Avtgis, T. (2016). Organizational Surveillance of Computer-Mediated

Workplace Communication: Employee Privacy Concerns and Responses. Employee

Responsibilities & Rights Journal, 28(1), 23-43. doi:10.1007/s10672-015-9627-4

Eivazi, K. (2011). Computer use monitoring and privacy at work. Computer Law & Security

Review, 27, 516-523. doi:10.1016/j.cisr.2011.07.003

Hovav, A., Putri, F. (2016). This is my device! Why should I follow your rules? Employees

compliance with BYOD security policy. Pervasive and Mobile Computing (32) 35-49.

doi:10.1016/j.pmcj.2016.06.007

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