As people and organizations have become increasingly dependent on technology and communication devices of all kinds, concerns about internet privacy, monitoring of cell phones, and even who can hear the conversations we have in our living rooms have become frequent topics of conversation – conversations that have spilled into the workplace.
Technology has changed the way we do our work – we can make more choices about how, when, and where we do our work than ever before. However, it has also created many new and sophisticated methods of workplace surveillance. West and Bowman (2014) report that almost 75% of major corporations monitor and attempt to control employee behavior with technology. Surveillance practices range from the use of key cards to video and audio recording. In their article in Administration and Society, they take up the question, “Are such practices ethical?”
The authors argue that employer surveillance of workers can be “an enabler of ends, both constructive and destructive.” And indeed, people in organizations describe surveillance practices as “a double-edged sword”. Electronic surveillance can improve safety, increase efficiency, and reduce legal liability. However, it can also become oppressive, lead to the objectification of employees, and has been linked to physical illness and psychological harm. And, there is a growing literature arguing both sides of the question.
West and Bowman apply the “ethics triangle” (results, rules, virtue) to the existing literature arguing for or against workplace surveillance. In other words, surveillance practices are examined by asking: Who benefits? Do the practices apply to everyone? And, do surveillance practices increase the integrity of individuals and groups within organizations? However, the authors suggest that that these rational approaches to evaluating the ethics of making decisions about whether and how to surveil workers fall short in “real life” given that “behavior is less under conscious control than previously believed”.
They go on to apply the framework of behavioral ethics, which taps into the psychological, emotional, and unconscious dimensions of human interactions and decision-making. According to West and Bowman, “This emerging field aims to make such traditional rational models more robust…and practical by adding insights from psychology, sociology, and other disciplines”.
Ultimately the authors conclude that ethical workplace surveillance is accomplished through a combination of rational and behavioral ethics. While surveillance in and of itself is not good or bad, its practice and how it is experienced varies. As the authors point out, this question extends beyond whether or not workers have a moral right to privacy and where those lines should be drawn. The ethics of workplace surveillance has as much to with the personality and character of the leadership and the quality of workplace dynamics from which the decision to implement surveillance emerges.
