I believe that an employee has a right to reasonable privacy in cyberspace, even at the work place. Just as you cannot expect an employer to be able to search an employee’s vehicle, or purse, an employee should be able to check one’s personal email or social media account without fear of their IT department or employer perusing their personal or financial information.
The internet should be regarded as a utility, as in this day and age, it is difficult to get along without internet service. Just as any ethical company allows employees to utilize the office phone for personal affairs, it is not unreasonable to allow employees the use of company internet to resolve personal affairs, like paying bills, maintaining correspondence, or tapping into a nanny-cam to keep an eye on their children. Similarly, I believe employees should have a reasonable right to privacy over these services, even if they inadvertently store a password on their browser, or leave a tab open, and any violation of this expectation of privacy would be considered unethical.
I understand that there may be some operational impact on what may considered an official change of policy, but I would insist that these changes would be for the better. Although it is true that an employee may spend a lower quantity of time on a project, due to a brief pause for personal web browsing, but one could argue that the quality of time spent could be drastically improved with a refreshing reprisal from the daily grind. Akin to the motivations of the management that stimulates the workforce by offerings of coffee, allowing workers a reasonable amount of time to gather news or settle affairs could only result in a more focused and fulfilling work environment.
While I would be reluctant to refer to this potential policy change as a slippery slope, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the gradual incline, and can see how this new policy could be taken advantage of by a less than responsible employee. Allocating a brief period for employees to maintain personal correspondence is a far cry from a blank check, permitting the workforce to download games or music, or to browse potentially harmful sites. And of course local ethical and moral guidelines would need to be enforced in a way that did not encroach on an employee’s privacy. But this is definitely attainable.
The stance I would take on personal internet use, while respecting the individuals privacy would be a laissez faire approach. Personal internet use isn’t a problem until it is made a problem. Most potentially harmful sites should be prohibited by an onsite nanny filter, and there should be no cause to monitor anyone’s web traffic, until there is an instance of productivity decline or complaint. As what may be considered offensive would vary from employee to employee, there should be no cause for investigation until an employee causes discomfort by viewing particular content. As this browsing should be considered personal, very few employees should be made privy to the subject matter of another employees personal readings, and hopefully won’t result in disciplinary action.
For these reasons, and to these results, I believe that employees should be granted a small amount of personal time to tend to their affairs, and I wholeheartedly believe that the employee should have every expectation of privacy while conducting said affairs.