Email Privacy Essay

Never misuse or use email for personal use. Never share your password with anyone. Sharing business records and or information with anyone outside the office can become a legal matter. All passwords should be changed on a quarterly basis. And the system will prompt you to do so. Always be accountable for your actions, follow the office guidelines when it comes to regular password changes and keep your supervisor\manager in the loop. When everyone has the same understanding, they know what to expect!

Did you know that 58% of employers have fired workers for Internet and email misuse? And 48% justify employee video monitoring as an effort to “counter theft and violence?” According to the “2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey” of which 304 U.S. companies participated in, computer-monitoring results have led to the highest cause of employee termination. These companies used several tactics to eavesdrop on employees while claiming to be managing productivity or for security purposes. Some argue that surveillance is absolutely necessary to help protect and grow a business; others argue that employee and customer rights come first. However, companies that use such tactics often violate the privacy of individuals, exploit their private information and even punish those that do not conform to their standards.

* In today’s world of fast-developing technology, in which the click of mouse can dispense a plethora of information, privacy for job seekers and employees is a significant issue. One type of privacy issue in the workplace occurs when a company gathers or circulates private or personal information about employees or candidates for employment.

Mail may have confidential information; it may include personal information about employees or contain confidential business information. When we receive mail or

Employees can keep the information safe by minimizing screen when people or passing or when leaving the computer. The employee also should not share their password with anyone at anytime.

Many business owners must examine what is at risk when they communicate sensitive data over email. The first thing is to make sure that a good virus protection software is install and updated on everyone computer place. Second it is good that all key departments within the organization, such as legal IT and H, understand the policies; require them to sign off on the email filtering, retention, retrieval and analysis policies (Small Business Computing Staff, 2011).

This section of the employee handbook is provided as a guideline for employees to understand the company policy and procedures regarding privacy in the workplace. While this section cannot address every possible scenario that may occur, the general policy will serve as a basis of understanding the key workplace issues and employee privacy. This section addresses privacy issues related to personal background information, off-work activities, and the corporate policy on the use of electronic monitoring. These privacy policies are designed to both provide a clear guideline for employees on the difference between job related and personal privacy. The policies are designed to create a standard set of

The most common form of an invasion, to employee privacy rights is email. With the massive use of computers, email has become the biggest communication tool of choice in the workplace. The concern of employers has grown tremendously with the use of email in the workplace. Employers' concern is that, employees can waste time by sending and receiving email for personal use, and they may provide easy access for hackers to entry their computer system. Employers can monitor an employee computer activity to ensure productivity in the workplace. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2006) states, "Unfortunately, if an employee uses a company computer for email use, the employee employer has the right to review the contents of his or her email."

This technique must be in accordance with the guidelines and regulation of AFL-CIO. For establishments’ email policies, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published significant and governing policies. Communication Workers of America and Purple Communications, which is AFL-CIO, the National Labor Relation Board depicted that the establishment’s email access which is granted to the workforces, the workforces can utilize this access of system for non-business purposes; however, within the depicted reach. As per this regulation of NLRB the proprietors must assess their existing policies and manufacture the forthcoming policies accordingly. Businesses must position assessments which the subordinate must provide the access to and to what degree. To be consistent with the guidelines of Purple Communication which is AFL-CIO the proprietors must examine their existing technology and mailing system and the monitoring polices additionally. If any proprietor aspires to limit the access it must be followed by the appropriate explanations and rationales. (Katz. M. and Austen, J.,

As much as a company should not invade the rights of its employees , it has the equal responsibility of ensuring that its privacy and that of its employees are not divulged or used in any personal intent by other employees . According to Nyman (2005 , more companies are being held accountable by employees whose privacy was compromised in the workplace because of what is seen as a lack in its measures to ensure their privacy . Therefore , if employers are being held accountable for such situations , Nyman believes that they should be given enough power to protect themselves from such liabilities

As an example I would like to describe my experience working at a relatively small fruit import company. The management of this firm gets information, makes orders, and carries almost all negotiations via the e-mail. "To minimize the risk of any disclosure or loss of confidential data, it is important to understand where the risks are, and implement office management practices and appropriate technology to ensure all of your data remains confidential and secure," advises article IDS: Classification (2002, December4). The potential loss or disclosure of information could occur through various ways: vulnerabilities of operation systems (mostly Microsoft products), vulnerabilities of e-mail software, viruses and malicious software, and weak passwords. It is relatively easy to protect electronic information in this case, but it does take some time and effort, which could be difficult for managers, who do not have an expertise in computers.

The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.? (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy and trade of intimate personal information and therefore, a threat to privacy on the Internet.

The first questions to ask when it comes to e-mail and websites at work is, “Am I being watched?” The answer is most likely yes. Employers have begun to watch their employee’s activities with greater detail over the years. In 2001, CNN.com posted an article titled, Is your PC watching you? Find out!, which looked into this further. In this article “A study by the Privacy Foundation claims employers are monitoring the Internet and e-mail use of 14 million employees. (Articles.CNN, 2001)” While it can be assumed that number has grown over the last decade, it can also be said with certainty that measures have been put in place to ensure information transmitted via business internet connections have increased. The U.S. government, for example, has set up content filters and points of encryption to safeguard against system penetrations and intrusions. Although these measures are not practical for home use, limiting the information you supply to through the internet will help. One topic of contention that does not seem to have a resolution, however, is the subject of electronic medical records.

The issue of employers’ and employees’ rights has always brought controversy in most companies. Some rights are expressly known like the right of employees to get paid after working for the agreed period of time among others. However, there are those things done by the employers that most employees feel are too private. Employees feel that some things done by the employers are an intrusion to their privacy. This paper will discuss issues on whether the employer has a right to review the employees’ email. It will look at both the employers and the employees’ perspective and what the law says about the issue.

The growing issues with Internet usage in the workplace has become a major concern for employers. Employers are discovering that employees are spending hours of wasted time surfing the Internet and sending inappropriate emails. Employers classify this type of behavior as, “Internet abuse,” and breaking company’s policies. While employees see this type of behavior harmless, employers see this as potential risks to their organization. Previous researched study show employees spend hours surfing the Internet and sending non-work related emails to co-workers, family, and friends. With millions of employees having access to their employer’s Internet, companies are seeing an increase in Internet usage causing potential legal