The desktop telephone is rapidly being replaced by the desktop computer. More than 15 million people have access to the internet and 36 per cent of employees have an email address supplied by their employer. What's more, email has a peculiar power to get us to open up. As more of us communicate by email, IT specialists say firms are overreacting and violating employees' legitimate rights to privacy at work. That is wrong.
Constant surveillance is sinister and invasive.
The world is changing and we need to think hard about employees' rights and privileges in this wired world. Employees have always chatted in the office,' says Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Manchester University. It is no surprise they use new technology like the internet and email to do so. Employers are winning the battle to control cyberspace but the backlash is growing. Lawyers say the Regulation and Investigatory Powers Act conflicts with the Data Protection Act.