Article Review
The key message of the article is that the continued use of internet for social purposes during work hours has negative effects on people’s concentration at workplaces. According to the author, though internet has become an essential tool for carrying out research and other functions such as emailing, in most cases internet slows peoples’ ability to work optimally because workers who have access to internet end up visiting social sites and performing personal tasks. Because of technology and internet, most people have lost their desire for information and have acquired considerable desire for social connection.
Further, the article provides that a Nucleus Research has revealed that more people are surfing, using their Facebook accounts, and sending or receiving personal emails during work hours. As such, the interruptions that are caused by the desire to socially connect and to reply to social messages has led to substantial loss of productivity. Because of the loss of productivity, most companies have decided to monitor their employees for their internet activities during work hours. The article considers whether such a move is ethical.
Accordingly, the article provides that there is a danger of leaking sensitive information about companies when employees use internet for personal interests during work hours. The author states that the fear of leaking information that is capable of hurting the interests of companies has been a core reason why companies ban all online social activities during work hours. To ensure the effectiveness of the monitoring process, companies have resulted to installing software that prevent or record the frequency of the employees’ use of internet for social purposes. The article reiterates the importance of technology and internet in companies and their dependence in information sharing and innovation despite the dangers that technology poses on businesses.
The information provided in the article is convincing because it is research based. As such, the article is informative and reviews the possible problems that companies are exposed by continued abuse of technology in work places today. The author uses compelling evidence from various researches such as the Nucleus Research and the American Management Association survey to support the assertions of the author thus making the information more scientific.
References
Fact Sheet 7: Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Retrieved From https://www.privacyrights.org/workplace-privacy-and-employee-monitoring
Monitoring Employees on Networks: Unethical or Good Business? Interactive Session:
Management. Retrieved from http://www2.sta.uwi.edu/~anikov/info1400/lectures/07-ITF-interactive-session-2-Monitoring-Employees-On-Networks-Unethical-Or-Good-Business.pdf
