Where is the line between security and privacy?
Hidden surveillance with spy cameras does not surprise anyone anymore. There are many examples: banks, supermarkets, parking lots, etc. However, one example of hidden surveillance has caused a lot of controversies. It is the surveillance of employees.
Of course, companies have to protect their equipment and intellectual property. But employees, like all citizens in modern society, should have the right to their own privacy.
Let’s take a look at some common examples of employee surveillance in restaurants and casinos to determine if employee surveillance is really a harmful and abusive practice.
Food Service Establishments
For those who don’t have time to eat at home for lunch or dinner, going to a restaurant is the saving grace. When we go to a restaurant, we expect everything to go well – clean plates, good service, etc. And of course, we expect to eat well every time. But can we be sure that we always get what we want?
Watching workers on TV shows, you may have seen images of incompetent employees (many with psychological problems) doing really nasty things.
For example, they might sneeze on their plate, spit in their coffee, or do other horrible things that you don’t even want to think about right now.
There are many reasons for this (besides the obvious reason for mental illness). Someone may be having a bad day, someone may not like the person, they may not have received enough tips last time, etc. However, these situations are never acceptable.
So how can we be sure that we are eating clean and tasty food? Discreet employee surveillance might help this time. If no spy cameras were installed, no one would know that this was happening. In this case, employee surveillance at least gives hope that those employees will think twice before doing something objectionable.
Casino Operations
Casino businesses seem to be the biggest area for employee monitoring. Most Las Vegas casinos have some sort of surveillance cameras or have hired specialized contractors to monitor their employees and customers.
Secretly (many people already know about the existence of surveillance cameras in casinos), casinos can lose millions of dollars in the long run. Therefore, it is economically more beneficial for casinos to hire a company to monitor their players and employees, as it saves them a lot of money.
Again, without close monitoring of employees and customers, it is impossible to detect and prove that someone is stealing money or cheating at the tables.
Intellectual Property Rights
Another example of employee monitoring is when an IT company monitors its employees to make sure they don’t abuse the email system and valuable information doesn’t leak out.
You know how much employees like to abuse corporate networks. They download movies and MP3s, swap files, and visit porn sites frequently, sometimes even daily.
Companies that want their employees to work efficiently and not abuse their systems use special software to track their employees’ behavior at work. This software brings various inappropriate behaviors to the attention of system administrators and helps companies better monitor their employees’ work.
This is especially important when companies do not want to transmit information outside the network. An employee could send a new script over the network and thwart the film studio’s plans. He could email important applications to other companies and expect to be paid for this betrayal. Monitor employee productivity is therefore essential.
Companies usually have their own monitoring policy and communicate it to their employees, for example in contracts.
Conclusion
While monitoring workers is very important in some cases, there are many opinions to the contrary, with some arguing that monitoring workers are a violation of rights. Workers are told that they should have a personal space in which they feel safe at all times, both at home and at work.
Some argue that even though workers have control over their email and workspace, very important information such as emails, phone calls, and faxes can be leaked. Even if an employee decides to violate company policy, no one can stop them.
This may be true in practice. However, monitoring employees through various means can greatly reduce the likelihood of illegal activities such as money laundering. If you warn your employees about the presence of spy cameras, they will certainly think twice before committing illegal acts.
