Telephone use was tracked by 43 per cent. Computer use such as time logged on or keystroke counts was monitored by 19 per cent. Video surveillance for security purposes was used by 38 per cent. In addition, the annual survey found that more than a quarter of respondent companies fired people for misuse of company technology and three-quarters have disciplined people. People act as if they have privacy protection.
Workplace privacy is a contradiction in terms.
I know the illusion of privacy is there, but you are not using your own stuff. Most management and legal experts agree that simple prior notice to employees that their activities will be watched give employers wide freedom to monitor. E-mails and voicemails are frequently the smoking guns in corporate litigation. Standard operating procedure for any plaintiff's attorney in a corporate legal battle is to demand production of electronic records. Still, most monitoring is directed at specific job roles and not done around the clock, Mr. Greenberg said.