As an employee in Idaho, it’s understandable to expect a little privacy. With that said, the privacy you think you have compared to your actual privacy at work could be two very different things. Here’s a closer look at a few ways companies typically monitor their employees.
Phone-related communication
From using a company’s landline to an employer-provided smartphone, people use their phones a lot at work. It’s a safe bet to assume that a business is monitoring your conversations if you’re on an employer-paid phone. In most cases, privacy in the workplace doesn’t exist on a phone your employer pays for. Whether you’re sending a quick text or making a long phone call, watch what you say or text on company phones.
Emails
Considering how much business happens on computers, most employees send and receive a lot of emails in a typical day. This is another area in which employers closely monitor sent and received emails. Many companies impose guards for their employees’ email inboxes. These guards prevent people outside of a business from contacting its employees.
Surveillance
It’s no surprise that many employment law cases involve video surveillance in the workplace. Employers set up cameras to prevent theft and other workplace dangers. However, many employees understandably don’t want someone watching them all day. But employers are not allowed to record their employees in private areas like bathrooms or locker rooms.
To wrap things up, the average employer has many ways of monitoring its workers. But some types of employee monitoring cross the line. If your employer monitors you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, this business could be breaking the law.
