E-monitoring in the Workplace
Trent and Jamila
Robert and Jamie
The E-Monitoring Team
JAMIE
ROBERT
TRENT
JAMILA
What is E-Monitoring?
 Using electronics to watch, keep track
of, or check employees’ productivity and
use of company equipment.
Current Uses
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ID tags
E-mail
Phone calls
Keystroke
Computer monitoring
Physical monitoring
Keystroke Skit
[18/03/2008, 21:36]. User: "rdriver". Window title:"Mozilla Firefox Start Page - Mozilla
Firefox"
onyen.unc.edu
rdriver
[18/03/2008, 21:37]. User: "rdriver". Window title:"https://webmail3.isis.unc.edu - Webmail ::
Message Composition - Mozilla Firefox"
coworker@emailWork SucksHey buddy work sucks again. I really hate the boss, we dont get
any breaks so I just slack off on the internet!
[18/03/2008, 21:37]. User: "rdriver". Window title:"Mozilla Firefox Start Page - Mozilla
Firefox"
facebook.com
jamie
[18/03/2008, 21:38]. User: "rdriver". Window title:"Mozilla Firefox Start Page - Mozilla
Firefox"
nasdaq.com
goog
[18/03/2008, 21:38]. User: "rdriver". Window title:"Mozilla Firefox Start Page - Mozilla
Firefox"
espn.go.com
north carolina
Real World
 Smyth vs. Pillsbury legal case
 Email monitoring
 ECPA - Electronic Communications
Privacy Act
 One party consents
 Company provides equipment
 Used for business purposes
Productivity
 How does being monitored affect
productivity?
Productivity
 Not working number of hours paid to
work
 Non-work related internet uses
 Excessive usepoor performance
 $1.7bn NCAA Tourney
 Sources: NCAA (Challenger, Gray, Christmas Inc.
study); performance (1993 McWorld study).
Productivity
 If employees know they are being
monitored, they will be more productive
 78% of companies report internet abuse
by employees
 Will they waste time no matter what?
 Source: 2002 study by Computer Security Institute
Productivity
 Quality over Quantity
 Being monitored by numbers does not
represent the quality of the goods
produced
 Rush to meet a goal number but the
products will not be in as good of condition
Productivity
 Satisfied employees are more prone to be
more productive
 Give more breaks!
 Ex: Break Duration Study
 80% increase in errors when working without breaks
Source: Nicola Green, “Work-Related Musculoskeletal
Disorders (WMSD*) and Breaks”
Abuse and Discrimination
Monitoring Helps
Prevent inappropriate emails
Reduce harassing behavior/expensive lawsuits
Prevent theft/destruction
Monitoring Doesn’t Help
Could exploit different groups
Sources: 1999 Elron survey: 64% of employees had sent or received “adultoriented” emails.
Privacy
 Privacy is defined as the quality or state of
being apart from company or observation;
freedom from unauthorized intrusion (Nord)
 Should the company know all information
about their employees?
Privacy vs. Monitoring
Controversies
 Impact on insurance, personal life, illness
 Should company know all information
 Physical equivalence of
cyberspace/difference jobs
 If monitor should you monitor everything?
 Fake/inactive cameras - lying, unethical?
Is it Ethical to Monitor?
 Theories
 Utilitarianism vs. Just Consequentialism
Tradeoffs and Risks
 Alerts if they cross certain boundaries
 Is employee productivity worth more
than their privacy?
 How much are employees/employers
willing to risk?
 Where will we be in 5 to 10 years?
Conclusions
 How do we find a median?
 What does the class think?
Last man Standing
 Green means true and red means false
 Stay standing if you answer correctly
and sit down if you answer incorrectly
 Prize for the winner!!
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
Government wiretaps aren’t
considered e-monitoring.
Answer
ANSWER: TRUE
EVERYONE HOLDING A RED CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN FOR THE REST OF THE
GAME.
Question
 TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
 Employees have a constitutional right to
privacy in every workplace.
Answer
 ANSWER: FALSE Employers are not
required to tell their employees if they are
being monitored. Employees’ constitutional
right to privacy does not extend to the
workplace.
 EVERYONE HOLDING A GREEN CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN FOR THE REST OF
THE GAME
Question
 TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
The Electronic Communications Privacy
Act (ECPA) is in effect when both
parties consent and the company
provides the equipment.
Answer
 False
The ECPA is in effect when ONE party
consents.
EVERYONE HOLDING A GREEN CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN.
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
Smyth Vs. Pillsbury involved a case
where monitored phone calls and
voice mail led to the firing of an
employee
Answer
 FALSE
 It involved monitoring email
 EVERYONE HOLDING A GREEN
CARD SHOULD SIT DOWN
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
At least 75% of companies reported
employee abuse of internet access,
according to one study.
Answer
ANSWER: TRUE, the study showed 78% of
companies reported abuse.
EVERYONE HOLDING A RED CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN FOR THE REST OF THE
GAME.
Question
TRUE (GREEN) OR FALSE (RED)
TYLER HANSBROUGH IS NOW
THE ALL-TIME ACC LEADER IN
MADE FREE THROWS
Answer
FALSE, HE’S THREE FREE-THROWS
SHORT OF LAETTNER’S RECORD.
EVERYONE HOLDING A GREEN
CARD SHOULD SIT DOWN.
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
Courts have ruled that employees
can be fired for electronic
misconduct even if the employer
hadn’t told the employees that they
were being monitored.
Answer
ANSWER: TRUE
EVERYONE HOLDING A RED CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN FOR THE REST OF THE
GAME.
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
UNC is in the SOUTH bracket in the
NCAA Tournament.
Answer
 False
 UNC is in the East Bracket
Question
 TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
 Bosses now can remotely see
employees’ monitors in real-time.
Answer
 ANSWER: TRUE.
 EVERYONE HOLDING A RED CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN FOR THE REST
OF THE GAME
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
 An employer using an e-mail monitoring
application can read the text or
attachments in your company e-mail.
Answer
 ANSWER: TRUE. An employer can
read everything within company e-mail.
 EVERYONE HOLDING A RED CARD
SHOULD SIT DOWN FOR THE REST
OF THE GAME
Question
TRUE (green) or FALSE (red)
Most monitoring software only show
statistics or numbers about an
employee.
Answer
 True
Most monitoring software only show the
quantity rather than quality of an
employee’s productivity.
FINAL QUESTION!
 During this class you have all been
monitored. What percentage of the
class has “Sidetracked” on their
computers?
 REMAINING PLAYERS ONLY: Write
down your name and guess on a piece
of paper.
 Closest to the true number wins a prize.
Videos – Loss of Privacy
 Head phones
 Star Wars