Snooping Bosses

Thoughts and Reflections of article; Snooping Bosses

Monitoring, whether it’s in the private life or at work; I think it’s a big violation against us all. An exception is if you are suspected for any crime, or if your work, interests the authorities. In that case I definitely think that the use of the technological advances is justified.

I know that many companies from the area I’m from uses an “internet blocker”. It may seem as a fair and good solution, but I think the interaction between owners, company management and other employees should be very confident. The owners and the company management primary target have and will be a desire that every employee should work with a high level of efficiency and productivity. When working, know you will be monitored, must feel uncomfortable. I think it really impedes the confident between the employees, and a consequence of that will be a decreased efficiency and productivity.

When using surveillance equipment to find out what your employees does, you almost forces them to focus on their work duties every second of the day. I don’t think many people around the world whether have moral or strength to implement a working day like that. I think that a few minutes every day at facebook or some other “for fun homepage” creates more prosperous employees. It could be something else too, a phone call to a friend, just something that moves your thoughts away from your work for some minutes. Just to get some peace of the mind. After doing such a thing I’m convinced that the efficiency and productivity will improve along with the wellbeing during the working.

The big problem is of course all these employees, with no moral at all against the company they working for. Those spend hours on facebook or some other inappropriate homepage, taking the car spending hour’s downtown with friends or something like that.

I definitely understand that the company management reacts, but to restrict the use of internet or any other communication tool for everyone is going too far. Everyone shouldn’t be punished because someone have made a mistake and violated the company police. That is a very difficult situation for the companies, where do you set the limit?

I think one solution is to work towards targets, as long as it’s possible. In some professions it can be hard or impossible to set up measureable targets. But if you work toward a target and meets up to it, the company management don’t need to care about what you are doing during the working days. Except if you in any way are contrary to company policy.

In those companies who it is impossible to set up targets, the company management has big challenges, to find employees who can work with freedom and responsibility is very difficult. That’s a tough problem to deal with!!

If the company uses any kind of monitoring, I think that should be performed by an outside company, working under secrecy. If they control the information from the surveillance equipment, the employees don’t need to feel so observed from anyone in the same company. In all companies that use surveillance equipment it’s just the company management who got access to the information. That opens for the question, if the company management uses the information in a proper way!