Your right to privacy in the work place

So what are your privacy rights at work? To be safe, always assume you have none.

That means you should expect at minimum that:

• Your phone calls are logged.
• Your keystrokes are recorded.
• The Web sites you visit are logged.
• Snap shots of your computer desktop are randomly taken.
• A background check will be conducted on you.
• Someone to keep track of time when you come arrive, leave and spend out of the office for lunch.

You may also have to be on guard for other schenanigans, such as:

• Any inventions you conceive (even privately at home) while employed at your company will become the intellectual property of your employer.
• Executives may hire consultants to impersonate your identity to access your confidential records (e.g. HP’s board).
• Competitive co-workers who are care too much about office politics will scheme against you.
• Unmonitored/unlocked access points that allow unauthorized people on the premises expose you to unnecessary risk.

So assume you have no rights. You are hired at will. Nothing belongs to you. Welcome to the office of the future.

What are your thoughts? Please post your comments. Thanks.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who is concerned about how companies handle personally identifiable information. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.