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NEW YORK, May 18, 2005—From computer monitoring
and telephone taping to video surveillance and GPS satellite
tracking, employers are using policy and technology to manage
productivity and protect resources. To motivate employee
compliance, companies increasingly are putting teeth in
their technology policies. Fully 26% have fired workers
for misusing the Internet. Another 25% have terminated employees
for e-mail misuse. And 6% have fired employees for misusing
office telephones. That’s according to the 2005
Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey
from American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy
Institute.
Internet, E-Mail, IM & Blogging:
When it comes to workplace computer use, employers are primarily
concerned about inappropriate Web surfing, with 76% monitoring
workers’ Website connections. Fully 65% of companies
use software to block connections to inappropriate Websites—a
27% increase since 2001 when AMA and ePolicy Institute last
surveyed electronic monitoring and surveillance policies
and procedures in the workplace.
Computer monitoring takes various forms, with 36% of employers
tracking content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard.
Another 50% store and review employees’ computer files.
Companies also keep an eye on e-mail, with 55% retaining
and reviewing messages.
Employers are doing a good job of notifying employees when
they are being watched. Of those organizations that engage
in monitoring and surveillance activities, fully 80% inform
workers that the company is monitoring content, keystrokes
and time spent at the keyboard; 82% let employees know the
company stores and reviews computer files; 86% alert employees
to e-mail monitoring; and 89% notify employees that their
Web usage is being tracked.
“Concern over litigation and the role electronic
evidence plays in lawsuits and regulatory investigations
has spurred more employers to implement electronic technology
policies,” said Nancy Flynn, executive director of
The ePolicy Institute and author of E-Mail Rules
(AMACOM 2003), Instant Messaging Rules (AMACOM
2004) and other books related to workplace computer use.
Employers have established policies governing personal e-mail
use (84%); personal Internet use (81%); personal instant
messenger (IM) use (42%); operation of personal Web sites
on company time (34%); personal postings on corporate blogs
(23%); and operation of personal blogs on company time (20%).
“Workers’ e-mail, IM, blog and Internet content
creates written business records that are the electronic
equivalent of DNA evidence,” said Flynn, noting that
one in five employers has had e-mail subpoenaed by courts
and regulators and another 13% have battled workplace lawsuits
triggered by employee e-mail, according to last year’s
Workplace E-Mail & IM Survey from AMA and ePolicy Institute.
“To help control the risk of litigation, security
breaches and other electronic disasters, employers should
take advantage of technology tools to battle people problems—including
the accidental and intentional misuse of computer systems,
telephones and other electronic resources,” Flynn
said.
Telephone, Cell Phones, Camera Phones & Voice
Mail:
Concerned about inappropriate telephone use, 57% of employers
block access to 900 lines and other unauthorized phone numbers.
The number of employers who monitor the amount of time employees
spend on the phone and track the numbers called has jumped
to 51%, up from 9% in 2001. The percentage of companies
that tape phone conversations has also grown in the past
four years. In 2001, 9% of companies recorded workers’
phone calls. Today, 19% tape the calls of employees in selected
job categories, and another 3% record and review all employees’
phone chat.
Far fewer employers monitor employees’ voice mail
messages, with 15% reporting that they tape or review voice
mail.
To help manage employees’ telephone use, employers
apply a combination of policy and discipline. Twenty-seven
percent have a written policy governing personal cell phone
use at the office, and another 19% use policy to help control
the capture and transmission of images via camera phones.
Six percent of companies have fired employees for misusing
office phones, and another 22% have issued formal reprimands
to those who abuse phone privileges.
Video Surveillance:
More than half of the companies surveyed use video
monitoring to counter theft, violence and sabotage (51%
in 2005 vs. 33% in 2001). The number of companies that use
video surveillance to track employees’ on-the-job
performance has also increased, with 10% now videotaping
selected job categories and 6% videotaping all employees.
Among companies that videotape workers, 85% notify employees
of the practice.
Global Satellite Positioning & Emerging Surveillance
Technology:
Employers have been slow to adopt emerging monitoring
and surveillance technologies to help track employee productivity
and movement. Employers who use Assisted Global Positioning
or Global Positioning Systems satellite technology are in
the minority, with only 5% using GPS to monitor cell phones;
8% using GPS to track company vehicles; and 8% using GSP
to monitor employee ID/Smartcards.
The majority (53%) of companies employ Smartcard technology
to control physical security and access to buildings and
data centers. Trailing far behind is the use of technology
that enables fingerprint scans (5%), facial recognition
(2%) and iris scans (0.5%).
The 2005 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance
Survey is co-sponsored by American Management Association
(www.amanet.org) and The ePolicy Institute (www.epolicyinstitute.com).
A total of 526 U.S. companies participated: 23% represent
companies employing 100 or fewer workers, 101–500
employees (25%), 501–1,000 (10%), 1,001–2,500
(13%), 2,501–5,000 (7%) and 5,001 or more (22%). In
2004, 840 U.S. businesses participated in the 2004 Workplace
E-Mail & IM Survey from American Management Association
and The ePolicy Institute. In 2001, 435 U.S. companies participated
in the 2001 Electronic Policies & Procedures Survey
from American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute.
About AMA
American Management Association is the world's
leading membership-based management development organization.
Since 1923, it has provided valuable and practical action-oriented
learning programs to business professionals at every stage
of their careers. More than 500,000 AMA customers and members
a year learn new skills and behaviors, gain more confidence,
advance their careers and contribute to the success of their
organizations through a wide range of AMA seminars, conferences
and executive forums, as well as through AMA books and publications,
research, online learning and self-study courses.
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