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American Companies Increase use of Electronic Monitoring:
April 12, 2000 —The American
Management Association (AMA) today released results of its Annual
Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance Survey. Nearly three-quarters
(73.5%) of major U.S. firms report that they record and review
their employees' communications and activities on the job, including
their phone calls, e-mail, Internet connections and computer files.
This figure has doubled since 1997, driven by a dramatic increase
in employers' interest in what employees are doing on their computers.
One out of four companies say they have dismissed employees for
misuse of telecommunications equipment.
"Employers have legitimate concerns regarding
performance and liability. Likewise, employees have legitimate
concerns regarding privacy," said Ellen Bayer, AMA's global
practice leader on human resources issues. "To ensure effective
and fair monitoring policies, AMA strongly recommends that companies
create clearly stated and broadly understood policies on this
subject," added Bayer.
The growth of electronic monitoring has
been explosive over the past two years. Fifty-four percent of
employers report monitoring their employees' Internet connections.
Thirty-eight percent review e-mail messages, up from 15 percent
in 1997 and 31 percent review computer files, up from 14 percent
in 1997. In efforts to control employee misuse or personal use
of telecommunications equipment, 55 percent of respondent firms
use "blocking" software to prevent telephone connections
to unauthorized or inappropriate phone numbers; 29 percent block
Internet connections to unauthorized or inappropriate Web sites.
"Productivity suffers when employees
surf the Web on company time. Additionally, employers can face
liability issues when employees access pornographic or inappropriate
Web sites that may offend their colleagues," said Bayer.
The larger the company, the more likely
it is to engage in monitoring and surveillance activities. Broken
down by business category, respondents from the financial services
sector (banks, brokerages, insurance, and real estate) lead the
pack when it comes to monitoring their employees' e-mail, with
55 percent engaged in this practice, and when it comes to monitoring
their employees' Internet connections, with 73 percent doing so.
"Internet monitoring is such a
new area filled with so many misconceptions of what is proper,
appropriate and legal, that employees and employers need to have
a clear, mutual understanding of what each may and may not do,
"said Bayer. To assure that shared understanding, AMA recommends
that electronic monitoring policies be:
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Clearly defined and disseminated to
all employees through all communication channels, from paper
to electronic media.
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Addressed in recruitment, orientation
and training programs.
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Discussed in face-to-face meetings
between managers and employees, which allow for questions
to be answered and concerns aired.
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Illustrated through specific examples
of misuse, accompanied by a consistent explanation regarding
application of standards.
"Managers need to fully
understand all the implications of employee monitoring and should
become more proactive in terms of defining the benefits, needs
and objectives of any surveillance program," asserted Bayer.
For complete survey results please refer to AMAŽs Web site at
www.amanet.org.
The American Management
Association is the world's leading membership-based management
development organization. AMA offers a full range of business
education and management development programs for individuals
and organizations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Through a
variety of seminars and conferences, assessments and customized
learning solutions, publications and on-line resources, more than
700,000 AMA members and customers a year learn superior business
skills and best management practices from a faculty of top practitioners.
Those interested in program information or membership can visit
the AMA Web site at www.amanet.org.
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