Is your company spying on you?

Global positioning systems, keystroke monitoring programs, biometric access devices, e-mail tracking -- they're all ways for workplaces to keep watch over employees. But companies that find it necessary to monitor the personal activities of employees on the job should, at very least, ensure they are formally notified they are being watched, say lawyers and human resource specialists.


Laws differ across the country. In British Columbia and Alberta, which have provincial privacy legislation, arbitrators ruled monitoring employees' keystrokes is an invasion of privacy especially if done without their knowledge; Quebec also has privacy protection laws.


In Ontario, though, there are no provincial privacy laws governing employers so how employers monitor their personnel is largely up to the discretion of the company.


"It's more an industry standard as opposed to a court saying this is what's permissible and this is what's not permissible," says Javad Heydary, an employment lawyer with Heydary Hamilton LLP in Toronto.


"If you are going to have a monitoring system in place, it should be part of the corporate policy and you should publicize that. And as long as you notify your employees that they're going to be monitored, you can pretty much do anything deemed necessary."


full story can be found here: Is your company spying on you?

[ppcock]

Umm, yes.. I did know.

5 years too late homie.

[mojo]

once in a while when i'm in the bathroom and come out i notice the books have been rifled through those bastards.

[Phrenetic]

if your workplace is doing that then leave.

Originally Posted by ppcock

Umm, yes.. I did know.

5 years too late homie.

I doubt everyone knows the law on privacy

[prozac]

Are you kidding me?

If you are using a company computer and a company internet connection to do anything but work, well you really have no right to cry foul about privacy in my opinion. Your employer owns that computer, that keyboard, that network, that phoneline. Anything beyond a brief personal call or email is misuse technically.

I'm guilty of it to some extent myself, but I'm also well aware I have nobody to blame but myself if I get called out for chatting to my boyfriend or posting on fnk on company time.

edit: I'm trying to say you should expect to be monitored, whether they tell you about it or not.

good point. those slackers

[fritz]

not everyone is at 9-5 cut and dry sit at your desk data entry type job though

is monitoring still ok if:
you check your email from home from your own computer
you check your own hotmail after you get off work from your workstation
you store questionable software on your personal laptop but use the office bandwidth
you post on fnk on your lunch break

luckily im the guy who sets up the potential monitoring at my work so i'm not too worried about it, but it's interesting because some of our offices are in states/provinces where notification isn't legally required. there's a lot of gray area but if it was my decision i would err on the side of letting the end user know. being truthful is always the safe choice to avoiding confrontation.

[shebavpg]

I can't do shit all on my work computer at my desk, but they have computers we can do most everything on on the side of the office, but we are not aloud to check email.

[Bitchin]

the employ you so of course thier goin to watch your every move.

i only disagree with the key stroke monitoring... simply becuz of passwords.

[t-skywalker]

im websenced to everything online at work

[ebbomega]

9/10 companies have a printed computer policy that usually will include language to the effect of "All computer equipment, networks and bandwidth is company property and as such may be monitored". You don't have to agree to these policies, basically in using the computers you're agreeing to them.

That being said, why not? Libraries have proxies that monitor net activity. Keycopying is not that much different.

Really you shouldn't be using corporate computers for personal use. Everybody does anyways but they really should assume that they're being monitored. It's been that way at every office job I've ever worked.

[Mangle]

And yet, no matter how much they do this sh!t, they can't stop crackheads from stealing candy bars at 7-11. I say we implant cameras in crackheads. The world would be a safer place for Oh Henry.

Seriously, though, thanks for the heads up, alla. It's a subject worth talking about.

we're lucky that our company provided computers in the lunch room for staff to use.. with the amount of projects and my deadlines, i can't even think about using computers while I'm working...

[Mangle]

I think there's a trust issue here, for sure. If you're going to monitor your employees, they deserve to be told. For one, it doesn't act as a deterrent for ill behavior if you don't tell them. And another, if they find out they're being secretly monitored, it makes them distrust you and more likely to go out of their way to steal and otherwise ruin the company.

[Erin]

Originally Posted by t-skywalker

im websenced to everything online at work

Not fnk :)

[yoko*]

I don't even bother with taking a risk at work. I work in the offices of a large bank so we have retarded amounts of security, security cameras and security measures. They don't even allow us to have our cell phones with us (or else corrective action) and we aren't permitted regular internet access asides from internal and some external job-related websites.

I just fill spare time by building mini paper cranes and doodling on my notebook...

[SEAN!]

Originally Posted by yoko*

I don't even bother with taking a risk at work. I work in the offices of a large bank so we have retarded amounts of security, security cameras and security measures. They don't even allow us to have our cell phones with us (or else corrective action) and we aren't permitted regular internet access asides from internal and some external job-related websites.

I just fill spare time by building mini paper cranes and doodling on my notebook...

yeah, working at banks you expect that. every office has an internal controls team and they will roll up to your desk if they have a problem.

people always say, 'well you work at a bank you can just take money.' the fact is even if you were inclined to do that everything you do is audited 3 times a day. im an accountant, working in industry right now, when i get bored i run over my numbers and check my controls like five times a day. im anal retentive on that shit.

anyway, coming from a dude who is probably monitoring you its expected, don't fuck around at work, work is work everything else can be play.

[yoko*]

Originally Posted by SEAN!

anyway, coming from a dude who is probably monitoring you its expected, don't fuck around at work, work is work everything else can be play.

Not to sound snotty, but I wasn't asking for your advice.

[SEAN!]

Originally Posted by yoko*

Not to sound snotty, but I wasn't asking for your advice.

did not mean to sound like i was.

anyway, its pretty much expected that people are watching what you do at work, it is work.

[tiedye]

The trust thing goes both ways; pornography, offencive or controversial material, or anything else that can be deemed publicly unacceptable should be monitored and restricted. Anything else, such as FNK, Facebook, or any sort of social medium, should fall into the trust category: I have 5 minutes of time to kill with ZERO responsibilities or extra work, that would not affect my regular duties, so I'll see what my friends are doing this evening; tell her how cute she looked last night in that dress; and hell.. maybe I'll add a few new bands to my favourites list.

This isn't taking away from the company. This is filling empty space. When it is abused, it's direct action, not generalized action, that should be taken.

Mind you, I've never worked a position where there are any more than a dozen people that could possibly be affected by this... so, obviously in mass corporate situations, my opinion is null and void.

Originally Posted by yoko*

Not to sound snotty, but I wasn't asking for your advice.

He basically just reiterated your point.

JOSS SAYIN' o

[Grapes]

Originally Posted by SEAN!

people always say, 'well you work at a bank you can just take money.'

WAIT, WHAT l

[Mangle]

So many comma splices...

Originally Posted by SEAN!

yeah, working at banks you expect that. every office has an internal controls team and they will roll up to your desk if they have a problem.

people always say, 'well you work at a bank you can just take money.'

I can't stand it when people make comments like that to me... or another one: "hey, you work at the bank, you must be rich".. haha