Electronic Surveillance At Work For Over 12 Million Employees Raises Stress Levels

Whilst the Samaritans have recently published the findings of the survey into workplace bullying and the results showing it is ‘endemic’ within british workplaces, a new survey is released regarding workplace stress.

'Market, Class, and Employment'Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and commissioned by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI), the report found that “More than 12 million people are scrutinised by electronic surveillance at work causing a sharp rise in stress levels”.

When you consider that workplace bullying amongst other things is one of the main causes of stress at work, it is no surprise to read that electronic surveillance at work is on a sharp increase, together with associated stress levels. Bullying takes many forms and the modern day equivalent is often seen as electronic surveillance and the use of  unrealistic productivity targets. It doesn't always stop in the workplace, as the sudden increase in advertisements for vehicle tracking systems witness - "Know where your employees and vehicles are at all times!"

According to a recent article on the website Silicon.com, 'Big Brother'-style IT systems are now watching half of the UK's employees, fueling fear and stress in the workplace.

The article continues:

"For 23 per cent of UK employees, these IT systems are used to check the quality of work produced. Feelings of exhaustion and anxiety related to work are 7.5 per cent higher among these 23 per cent.

Privacy advocates say the surge in cyber snooping by bosses will land an increasing number of employers in court defending breaches of the Human Rights Act.

Employees asleep on the job!Last year a college secretary from Wales represented by human rights group Liberty won a legal battle against her employers after her personal communications were monitored for 18 months without her consent. Speaking at the time of their legal victory for the college secretary, Liberty's legal director James Welch said: "Employees don't leave their personal privacy at the front door when they come to work each day. This judgment makes perfectly clear that employers who spy on their staff are infringing their privacy."

Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, told silicon.com the 50 per cent figure is a "crucial landmark" in the workplace. He said: "The Data Protection Act offers woeful protection for employees and I would call on the government to present greater protections. I guarantee that we will see more and more human rights cases as this surveillance increases. Surveillance has serious health implications and the government has ignored this."

Michael White, one of the report's authors and research fellow at the PSI, said: "The immediate problem is likely to be a high level of job turnover and increased work strain is associated with adverse health implications. There is certainly the potential that employers could be facing more challenges."

Monitoring noted by the PSI study includes logging emails and internet usage, keystroke loggers, recording and timing calls and measuring shop-till throughput.

Bearing the brunt of the IT scrutiny are administrative and white collar employees, such as call-centre staff and data entry workers, who complained of an increase in work strain of 10 per cent when they are being watched.

But an increasing number of semi-skilled and manual workers, such as production line and distribution workers are also under the electronic eye, similarly reporting an increase in work strain of eight per cent when under scrutiny.”

The article ends by making the point that where IT monitoring applies to managers and professionals the study, found no adverse effects for this group.

However, the major issue is one of health. A Workplace Law article on the same issue quotes Dr Michael White, who co-directed the study with Dr Patrick McGovern of the London School of Economics, as saying:

"Computers and IT systems are bringing surveillance to most workplaces. Now for the first time we can see how this development is damaging employees' well-being."

Organisations should be aware of their obligations under the law and any best practice guidance available. Workplace Law  says the consequences of implementing monitoring incorrectly include:

  • breaches of human rights and other legislation;
  • damage to employment and public relations;
  • complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office; and
  • claims by employees in court or in the Employment Tribunal.

Researchers questioned 2,132 employees and 2,000 employers across all industry sectors for the study. The full results are reported in a book published by Oxford University Press on 6 December 2007, 'Market, Class, and Employment'.

Typical electronic PC use logging:

• keystroke logging
• emails sent and received logging
• website visits logging
• programs executed and usage logging
• internet connections logging
• chat conversations logging
• file/document access logging

Note: Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is one of Britain's leading independent research institutes, conducting research to promote economic well-being and improve quality of life. PSI enjoys a reputation for the rigorous and impartial evaluation of policy in the UK and Europe, and the publication and dissemination of research findings is central to our ethos.

Source: Silicon.com / Workplace Law


 
 
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