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Your Boss May Be Watching

Workplace monitoring is on the rise, particularly Web-surfing habits.

By Nicole Maestri, PCWorld   

Nearly three-quarters of major U.S. firms record and review employees' communications and Internet activities on the job, according to the association's annual electronic monitoring and surveillance survey, released Wednesday. Surveillance covers phone calls, e-mail, Web surfing, and PC use.

This is a big jump from 1999, when 45.1 percent of companies monitored the workplace. Also, 38 percent of the managers surveyed say they review e-mail, a figure that has tripled since the survey began in 1997.

Most surprising was that 54 percent of employers monitor Internet connections, says Eric Rolfe Greenberg, the association's director of management studies.

"I would not have thought it was that high," Greenberg says. "I simply underestimated the impact that the Internet has had in the workplace." This is the first year the AMA has tracked this figure.

More Surfing, More Watching

As more employees go online, the figure will likely rise, Greenberg adds. But others doubt its accuracy.

"If it was 54 percent, it would be a multibillion-dollar industry," says Doug Fowler, president of SpectorSoft, which makes software that monitors PC use.

Companies do not necessarily mean they actively track where employees surf or what they do, Fowler says. Rather, companies use filters or otherwise block certain sites as a kind of monitoring, he says.

Of respondents, 55 percent restrict unauthorized phone calls, and 29 percent block access to specified Web sites.

Eyeing Productivity, Liability

Workers become less productive as Internet access spreads, Greenberg says. Also, employers worry about liability for staff surfing habits.

"If an employee is cruising porn sites on the Net, that's a productivity problem. If another employee walks into that office and sees that on the screen, that's a liability problem," Greenberg says.

Companies are forced to take action for violations of policy.

"Nearly 20 percent of the companies have indicated that they've dismissed employees for personal use or misuse," Greenberg says.

To many employees' surprise, employers have no obligation to respect e-mail privacy.

"Many [employees] think that what they put in a personal e-mail at work is private," says Michael Jensen, a lawyer with Luce, Forward, Hamilton, and Scripps.

By law, communication systems belong to the company. That includes e-mail sent from a corporate PC, a call on an employer's phone, or a Web site viewed from work.

Companies should tell employees when they are monitored, and explain the goal of promoting a positive work environment, free from inappropriate or offensive behavior, Jensen suggests. Those that do not try to educate employees may be vulnerable to lawsuits, he adds.

Survey Roundup

The survey also found:

• Surveillance is primarily used for performance reviews, legal compliance, liability, and productivity.

• The larger a company, the more likely it is that it monitors.

• Financial services, which are highly regulated, are most likely to actively monitor.

• Employees are steadily gaining access to all forms of telecommunications; 64 percent of employees in surveyed firms have e-mail, and 48 percent have Internet access.