The spy that has hired you

Date: 26/4/2006
Source:
Author: -

You might not even know it is happening, but if you are reading this in the office, someone is probably watching. During the past few years, there has been a growing trend among employers to monitor the actions and performance of their workers. Concerns about employee productivity, quality of work, employee theft or misuse of company property, have led employers to use new ways to monitor employee behaviour.

According to Andrew Solomon, MD Radar Security, the most commonly used form of surveillance in Kenya today are video cameras, commonly known as Closed Circuit TV (CCTV).

And there is evidence to bear him out. Last year, staff at a major media organisation noticed a crew of outside electricians doing a lot of work in the building. They were installing an extraordinary amount of new CCTV and refurbishing old ones.

"At first no one thought much about it, but when we noticed that the equipment had been strategically placed in all the floors to face our work area, there was considerable alarm," says an employee of the company. They later found out that each camera not only had lights inside them but also had miniature video cameras that were specifically set to record every event taking place in the open plan office areas. Before that, there had been a story about two employees from the same company caught on CCTV cameras having sex with interns in the car park.Electronic surveillance

About two years ago, workers at a water bottling plant in Nairobi were notified by management that they were not to conduct personal business on company time. They treated this as just another one of those notices that bosses post from time to time.

But a few weeks later, a secretary was called into the MD’s office and given verbal warning for breaking this rule. The boss’s evidence was a still image, captured by a CCTV camera, of the woman knitting. Since this didn’t have anything to do with work the boss accused her of "stealing time" to do her own businesses. This is all part of a growing trend of employers spying on workers. Most bosses say this is just part of an effort to stop white-collar crime and prevent workers from misusing time.

Andrew says that there has been an increased demand for CCTV equipment from local businesses in Nairobi mainly for security and to monitor employees.

"We believe that installing of electronic surveillance equipment greatly reduces the percentage of pilferage, misuse of company property and lost man-hours in an organisation," says Andrew.

Indeed, getting caught in the workplace is now easier than ever. From keyboard-tracking programmes, which record every bit of data entered into a computer, to badges that track a wearer’s every movement within a building, monitoring technologies are providing detailed windows into workers’ daily activities. The cameras can see where you are going, there may be someone monitoring the phone lines listening to your conversations, web surfing is scrutinised and just about any electronic operation can be analysed for the slightest ethical infraction.

However, the concept of workplace surveillance is not new in Kenya. Other monitoring technologies have been around for decades.Negative impact

Andrew says that tapping onto telephone lines and even eavesdropping on oral conversations and interception or accessing of electronic communications are the other popular ways of employee surveillance in Kenya.

A global survey of 301 businesses by Macworld magazine published last year found that about 22 per cent of businesses had searched employee computer files, voice mail, e-mail or other networking communications. The percentage jumped to 30 per cent for businesses with 1,000 or more employees. According to another survey, about eight million workers were subject to some form of electronic surveillance by their employers in 1991. In 1996 the number had risen to 20 million workers, and this was based upon the employers who admitted to spying on their workers.

According to Eric Mwanzia, accounts manager at the Panafric Hotel, surveillance of employees by employers is important, but has to be justified.

"Employers have a legitimate interest in certain amount of monitoring to ascertain employee efficiency and effectiveness but requirements that want employees to unmask themselves to their employers should not be entertained," says Mwanzia.

He says workplace surveillance may negatively impact on productivity and morale as employees who are being monitored may suffer tension, anxiety, depression or anger if the monitoring is considered unreasonable or oppressive.

Nairobi lawyer Griffith Mengo, says that in Kenya, there is no law protecting employees against surveillance by employers as it is assumed that the employer own the business premise and equipment being used therein.

Staff privacy rights

The reasoning in such cases primarily has been that the employer owns the equipment the employee is working on and, therefore, has a right to track its use.

"In fact, employers don’t even have to tell employees that they’re being watched," he says. "There is no need for employers, even at the very least, to inform workers of their monitoring policies. But individual privacy is recognised and protected by law."

According to Mengo, the granting of privacy rights to staff in the workplace must be counterbalanced by two main principles: the fact that such rights will be exercised reasonably and with respect for co-workers and the fact that in exercising such rights, the central needs of the business in which the worker is employed are not undermined.

"An employer has the right to ensure that his staff is not involved in illegal activities and that company secrets are not being leaked, and that the company’s property is not being misused."

In countries like Australia and Wales reputed to be having the best anti-surveillance laws, overt surveillance of workers can only occur if an employee has been given notice of the surveillance. At least 14 days prior notice is required, unless the employee agrees to a shorter period. For new employees, notification must be given before they start work.

According to Frederick Lane, author of the book The Naked Employee which looks at the growing use of technology to monitor employee activities, the notice must indicate the kind of surveillance to be carried out (camera, computer or tracking), how the surveillance will be carried out, when it will start and whether the surveillance will be continuous or intermittent.

Although Andrew says he cannot tell exactly how much companies save by installing these devices, he says that the demand for them clearly shows that there is benefit these organisations derive.Desire for anonymity

"It is widely believed that employees waste 30 minutes of every hour chatting, making personal telephone calls and going to the rest rooms. Employees will take their work more seriously if they know they are being monitored," he says.

Monitoring can happen either covertly or out in the open, say experts, but the thinking as to which is better is mixed. Some advocate secretly monitoring employees, while others believe communicating openly with employees about monitoring policies fosters a more productive working environment.

Though Andrew feels that these devices sometimes intrude on the privacy of individuals, he says that his company has strongly recommended to employers that signs be put stating that the property is under surveillance.

"We also recommend to employers to inform all their employees in writing that activities in the office are being monitored," he says. "The employers have a right to protect their business and employees who feel that their privacy is being intruded are not sincere in serving the company."

For some, surveillance will always be an acceptable price to pay for employment while to many others personal privacy and the desire for anonymity are worth leaving for.

Take the case of Elizabeth Ochieng’, who until last year August was working as a sales executive with an insurance company in Nairobi. She had to resign from her job after she learnt that her boss had repeatedly watched her change clothes in her office from the images on a camera installed to deter after-hours intruders.

Potential for conflict

"The office was wired and he had a small TV-like machine in his office from where he could see everything happening inside the building," she says. "Nobody knew the gadget was functional until one of my colleagues bumped into the boss flicking through some images. I think this could be happening to a lot of women because we sometimes carry extra pairs of clothing to work in case we need to change into something different."

To a large degree, Mwanzia says the principle that employers must be allowed to use some tools to maintain a safe and productive workplace is accepted. But he sees potential for conflict ahead, as technology makes it possible for companies to track with increasing precision the activities of those in their employ.

"Although workplace monitoring is a legitimate and essential management activity, there is bound to be suspicion especially when such monitoring crosses the line into unethical business practice," he says.

This brings up a fundamental question: If workplace surveillance is indeed becoming a fact of life, then how can one avoid being compromised by it? According to Mengo, using common sense appears to be the best bet. "Never assume that what you say or do isn’t being watched. This will help you to hold yourself to a reasonable standard of professionalism so that you can’t be compromised."

This article may be reproduced as long as the source Footprint Home Security is provided as a link.

Back to Free Expert Advice

Back to Footprint Home Security