Using Computing Technology For Employee Performance And...

Introduction In a world of rapid technological growth, there are a number of serious issues facing businesses and their employees, and none more so than the ethical dilemma of using technology to ensure that employees are meeting the standards set out by their employer. In this essay, we will focus on our topic of choice, ‘Using computing technology to monitor employee performance and behaviour is just plain wrong.’ There are many ways an employer can use technology to monitor their employees in all aspects of their working life. This includes electronically ‘clocking in out’ at the beginning and end of every shift, using similar technology to track the length of time each worker takes for their lunch or even toilet breaks, up to and†¦show more content†¦We will also look at the impact of social media on the employer/employee relationship. Arguments For Against It is without a doubt a natural human instinct to want privacy. It is a much discussed subject, especially in the age of electronic surveillance, on just how much privacy a citizen is entitled to. Article 8 of The European Convention on Human Rights states that â€Å"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence,† with certain provisos attached in the interest of national security and public safety (European Union 1953). However, the wording of this Article clearly implies that in the case of a person’s working life, they do not have this same right to privacy. According to the 2010 Absence and Workplace Health Survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry, from a total of 180 million sick days taken by UK workers in 2009, approximately 27 million of those were not for genuine illnesses. In 2008, an Australian call centre employee was given disciplinary action after pulling a ‘sickie’ from work, while posting on Facebook that the real reason he wasn’t in work was due to an over-use of alcohol the