Big Brother works 9 to 5.High-tech surveillance in the workplace is on the rise In what reads eerily like a corporate version of George Orwell's 1984, companies are increasingly using high-tech gadgetry gadg·et·ry n. 1. Gadgets considered as a group. 2. The design or construction of gadgets. Noun 1. gadgetry - appliances collectively; "laborsaving gadgetry" to monitor the professional lives of their workers. Whether it's the taping of phone conversations, reviewing of e-mail or hidden video cameras, Big Brother is definitely watching you. A 1998 American Management Association report, Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance, found that 67% of the organizations surveyed (vs. 63% in 1997) practice some form of electronic monitoring and surveillance of workplace activities. The three main reasons cited were: performance evaluation Performance evaluation The assessment of a manager's results, which involves, first, determining whether the money manager added value by outperforming the established benchmark (performance measurement) and, second, determining how the money manager achieved the calculated return (i.e., customer service staff), compliance with federal and local laws in regulated industries (i.e., brokerage, banking and insurance) and cost-control measures to track employees who surf the Net To browse the Internet. The most common Internet browsing today is done on the Web. Before the Web, the Internet was "surfed" via Archie, Gopher, WAIS and other search facilities. See surfing and how to access the Internet. or dial 900 numbers at company expense. Financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. providers and large companies (those with 2,500 employees or more) are most likely to monitor their employees. However, 93% of firms do inform their staff about their policies. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the AMA (Automatic Message Accounting) The recording and reporting of telephone calls within a telephone system. It includes the calling and called parties and start and stop times of the call. report, while nearly two-thirds of surveyed organizations practice some form of monitoring, 43% actually tape phone conversations, store and review voice mail messages, computer files and e-mail, and/or videotape employee performance. So before you take a 10-minute "power nap" at your desk or send an e-mail to a buddy across town, glance over your shoulder. Someone might just be watching. [GRAPHS OMITTED] |
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