The issue that needs to be fixed is connected to actions that should be performed in the workplace with regard to surveillance and employee tracking. This notion can be assessed as problematic since rigorous employee surveillance can become a subject to a potential conflict of interests. A more detailed idea linked to the conception of monitoring is the ethical issues and moral implications of modern employee surveillance. To solve the issue, it is needed to elaborate a concrete framework of employee monitoring since due to its absence employers and employees have no basis for negotiating the aspects of personal privacy. A moderating part would be needed to fully discuss how the proposed action would be completed since no agreement can be reached if no regulations or limits are introduced. It should be underlined that people have to act ethically regarding the processes of employee surveillance since inappropriate procedures and decisions can lead to diminished employee engagement and job satisfaction, as well as legal issues.
Employee monitoring is believed to be the observation of workers’ activities, and firms use it for a variety of purposes, including tracking performance, avoiding legal responsibility, protecting trade secrets, and addressing other security problems. The primary objective of employee surveillance and employer oversight is to gather information on user interactions and to detect particular forms of employee conduct or psychologically motivated behavior that may generally endanger the corporation. The study’s findings suggest that innovative monitoring technology cannot be embraced without conditions and may be the topic of negotiations and disputes (Abraham et al., 2019). Employee preferences and welfare are to be considered during the monitoring system implementation by human resource managers to increase acceptability and productivity, which proves the topic’s sophisticated nature (Abraham et al., 2019). In fact, a substantial level of conflict can arise due to improper monitoring; thus, reviewing the issue and its implications, it can be stated that paying attention to ethical employer oversight is crucial (Abraham et al., 2019). As a consequence, in the field of human resource management, employee surveillance can become a subject of arguing since it can provide negative repercussions to companies.
Since the abovementioned importance of discussing employer oversight aspects and offering ethical approaches to employee surveillance was proven, it is additionally obligatory to assess the links between employee monitoring and other spheres of organizational performance. The scholars in the research detected specific connections between the characteristics of employee monitoring, supervisor approval, organizational scepticism, and time constraints (Adiguzel et al., 2021). As an outcome, it is recognized from the investigation that time constraints and supervisor mentorship have a substantial impact on organizational distrust and employee monitoring (Adiguzel et al., 2021). Therefore, it can be noted that employer oversight is reflected in different organizational settings, including managerial support, results verification, and job deadlines. Thus, using overly intrusive employment surveillance technologies to analyze work activities is a definite method for introducing undesirable impacts such as lower employee morale, job-related stress, and unproductive work practices. Evaluating employee performance assists in calibrating those objectives by offering an opinion regarding where someone is performing well and where they may be challenged, as well as sections where they are not currently a competence. Employer oversight can be reflected in different business areas as it is widely utilized.
The first solution that can be developed with regard to ethical employer oversight and employee surveillance can be related to perceptual algorithmic technologies utilization and implementation. Considering the scientific investigations, the link between perceptual algorithmic technologies, intrusive job monitoring, and staff surveillance is established and described as positive in the article (Balica, 2019). The author elaborated analysis and made estimates regarding contributors to success in human resource management with data and analytics on workplace monitoring (Balica, 2019). Hence, there is concrete evidence present for depicting the digital aspects of employer oversight and performance tracking, which can be beneficial if done ethically and in accordance with the law (Balica, 2019). In other terms, this recommendation can function due to the fact that monitoring exclusively via means of information and communication technologies is useless and can result it immoral consequences. In this case, it is compulsory to elaborate technological and analytical support, for instance, integrating algorithmic data assessment tools, that will generate sets of information the manager can subsequently review and examine. Algorithmic technological surveillance and data analysis methodologies can be incorporated as efficient supplement aspects designed to deliver a wider perspective.
The second solution that can be emphasized concerning ethical employer oversight is the availability of collective agreements and discussions on confidentiality and personal privacy between workers and supervisors to maintain adequate level of control. The topic of computerized workplace surveillance, its effects on employees’ confidentiality, and the importance of collective agreements in tackling this emerging practice are covered in multiple academic works and researches (Blumenfeld et al., 2020). The methods of electronic employee monitoring have gained significant boost as a result of the pandemic and organizations were rapidly adopting digital surveillance techniques (Blumenfeld et al., 2020). In addition, there are reasonable arguments related to the link between digital employee surveillance and the impact of COVID-19, which lead to both positive and negative conclusions (Blumenfeld et al., 2020). Due to the conditions caused global by the pandemic, the field of employee monitoring and surveillance had to be rapidly transformed to a more technological and advanced one since distant working methods were introduced. As a consequence, major drawbacks arose during the transition period since information technologies and connected aspects were evaluated as more essential in comparison with collective discussion and moral implications.
The third suggestion that refers to ethical and moral features of employer oversight activities can be described as a more theoretical one if contrasted to the previous variants since it was developed as a conception. The purpose of the scholarly article’s investigation was to demonstrate the benefits of human rights-based methods in addressing business duty to protect privacy by examining the possibilities and drawbacks of legal and technology solutions (Ebert et al., 2021). To supplement current frameworks for protecting workers’ privacy in the period of big data monitoring, the authors created a process-oriented paradigm that can be potentially applied to current employee monitoring methodologies (Ebert et al., 2021). The source generally highlights big data peculiarities integrated and reflected in a process-oriented employee monitoring paradigm that can be utilized to analyze the aspects of employee privacy within the area of surveillance (Ebert et al., 2021). Therefore, big data technology plays a critical role in data retrieval, collection, processing, and analysis in the field of employee surveillance as a process of gathering and storing sufficient job-related information. A process-oriented employee tracking paradigm can be beneficial if incorporating a practical elaboration for utilization.
As a supporting methodology to assist in the elaboration of various recommendations regarding the importance of ethical employee surveillance, it is possible to promote the necessity of evaluation the issue’s historical path. This approach can be useful since it offers a whole picture to review the conditions and context of the problem. The research paper in the field of social sciences and surveillance defends the claim that contemporary workplaces resemble omnipresent control environments (Manokha, 2020). In addition, the study explores the ambiguous effects of the underlying historical shift in the model of employee control on power dynamics within (Manokha, 2020). With current technological surveillance methods, the manager is constantly monitoring and evaluating, which can lead to conflicts due to violating the fundamental rules and policies of confidentiality and personal security (Manokha, 2020). The historical perspective regarding employee surveillance and traditional workplace conditions provides a conclusion that excessive employee monitoring was initially relevant due to the need for constant performance control (Manokha, 2020). Nevertheless, the development of the legislative system and the substantial technological advancements lead to an increased level of workers’ awareness, knowledge, and opportunity to defend basic human rights.
Another probable solution to the issue of ethical employer oversight is connected to discussing the changes in the sphere of ethics in order to be able to frequently adapt to the changing working environment. The researches in the study discovered that, as indicated by the expansion of concerns and complaints, globalization and the digitization of business have changed not solely the ethical considerations but additionally their seriousness (Nuseir & Ghandour, 2019). Review attempts have been made in order to identify mitigation measures and gain a thorough knowledge of the ethical issues with digital control (Nuseir & Ghandour, 2019). The facts retrieved from multiple evaluations were identified as useful in assessing the general view on digital business management features and their ethical problems (Nuseir & Ghandour, 2019). The main feature of the findings is related to the need for analyzing and improving ethical employee monitoring procedures by not focusing solely on the technological and practical aspects in the field of labor relationships. In contrast, it is obligatory to consider a deeper examination of ethical principles, their development and feasibility of their application to human resource management strategies and managerial behavior.
Finally, describing the aspects of ethics and morale within the paradigm of employer oversight, a counterargument can be determined that is linked to the fact that all types and degrees of surveillance should be limited. In other terms, any attempt to monitor workers can be considered as excessive since the employer is crossing the personal borders of an individual. Researchers examines workplace technology implementations critically, analyzed surveillance systems and the reasons for and against them, and suggested an ethics of corporate monitoring within a context of trust (Indiparambil, 2019). Particularly, all job-related processes and duties should be dedicated to the feeling of trust and additional control is useless; hence, an appropriate level of internal transparency is required. In general, employee monitoring is crucially needed to be capable of both supervising job activities and reviewing overall work performance, while additionally measuring productivity. At the same time, the questions of appropriate technological support of employee surveillance and the problems of violating fundamental human freedoms, including the right for confidentiality and privacy, should be considered. Mutual collective agreements, communication efforts, technological advancements, and thorough analysis of ethical principles and trends can be beneficial.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that workers must act ethically when relating to the surveillance operations since incorrect protocols, judgments can result in reduced job satisfaction and organizational commitment, as well as legal difficulties. To summarize, all job-related activities and tasks, in terms of context, should be committed to the sense of trust, and further control is unnecessary; accordingly, a suitable level of internal openness is essential. In essence, staff monitoring is critical for managing official duties and analyzing entire organizational productivity, as well as gauging efficiency. Simultaneously, the issues of proper technology assistance for employee supervision, as well as the concerns of breaching fundamental human values, such as the right to secrecy and privacy, must be addressed. Shared collective agreements, networking initiatives, technology improvements, and a comprehensive review of ethical concepts and patterns can all be advantageous. It is essential to contemplate a more in-depth investigation of ethical principles, their evolution, and the viability of applying them to human resource management techniques and managerial conduct.
Concerning future implications, the repercussions of the global pandemic offered a relevant type of evidence that the conception of ethics and morale in the area of employer oversight can change due to external factors. In fact, what should be done in the future is the modeling process of potential conditions in the sphere of labor relations that can occur based on environmental shifts. Both technological and humanitarian, including ethical, recommendation can be elaborated and encompassed by a united framework of moderating job-related confrontations and abolishing technological shortcomings. If assessed separately, more issues can arise due to the impossibility of incorporating ethical and technological improvements in the human resource management paradigm.
References
Abraham, M., Niessen, C., Schnabel, C., Lorek, K., Grimm, V., Möslein, K., & Wrede, M. (2019). Electronic monitoring at work: The role of attitudes, functions, and perceived control for the acceptance of tracking technologies. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(4), 657-675.
Adiguzel, Z., Karaalioglu, S. N., & Zehir, C. (2021). Analysis of the effects of time pressure and supervisor support on organizational cynicism and employee surveillance in organization. Revista Perspectiva Empresarial, 8(1), 7-26.
Balica, R. (2019). Automated data analysis in organizations: Sensory algorithmic devices, intrusive workplace monitoring, and employee surveillance. Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management, 7(2), 61-67.
Blumenfeld, S., Anderson, G., & Hooper, V. (2020). Covid-19 and employee surveillance. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 45(2), 42-56. Web.
Ebert, I., Wildhaber, I., & Adams-Prassl, J. (2021). Big Data in the workplace: Privacy Due Diligence as a human rights-based approach to employee privacy protection. Big Data & Society, 8(1), 20539517211013051.
Indiparambil, J. J. (2019). Privacy and beyond: Socio-ethical concerns of ‘on-the-job’ surveillance. Asian Journal of Business Ethics, 8(1), 73-105.
Manokha, I. (2020). The implications of digital employee monitoring and people analytics for power relations in the workplace. Surveillance and Society, 18(4).
Nuseir, M. T., & Ghandour, A. (2019). Ethical issues in modern business management. International Journal of Procurement Management, 12(5), 592-605.