Electronic/Contemporary Monitoring: Enhancing Productivity or Invasion of Privacy?

             The current Philippine workplace is the subject of massive technological advances and innovative pieces of legislation designed to protect an individual’s privacy.  “This technology is both a blessing and a curse in the employment arena.  Sophisticated monitoring software and hardware allow businesses to conduct basic business transactions, avoid liability, conduct investigations and, ultimately, achieve success in a competitive global environment. Employees can also benefit when monitoring provides immediate feedback, keeps the workforce efficient and focused and discourages unethical/illegal behavior. The same technology, however, allows employers to monitor every detail of their employees’ actions, communications and whereabouts both inside and outside the workplace. As more and more employers conduct some form of monitoring, the practice will shortly become ubiquitous. This trend is problematic because excessive and unreasonable monitoring can: (1) invade an employee’s reasonable expectation of privacy, (2) lead employees to sneak around to conduct personal activities on work time, (3) lower morale, (4) cause employees to complain and, potentially, quit and (5) cause employees to fear using equipment even for benign work purposes.”[1]

             Employers, in their attempt to maximize efficiency and productivity may resort to more extensive monitoring of employee activities within the workplace.  “An increasing number of employers are electronically monitoring their employees’ use of email, the Internet, telephones, and computers. This increased monitoring has fuelled concern about the conflict between employers’ rights to protect their business and property, and employees’ right to privacy.”[2]

             While the 1987 Constitution recognizes the employers’ management prerogative, new legislation was enacted by Congress that seek to regulate the gathering and use of private data to protect an individual’s right to privacy.

            At present, the rules on the use of private data disclosed and, or gathered during the course of one’s employment are not clearly defined.  Thus, it is not far-fetched for employers to monitor and record an employee’s conduct or behaviour through electronic eavesdropping. This kind of activity by the employers will definitely give rise to privacy issues. 

            Is the information on the employee gathered through electronic monitoring or contemporary monitoring techniques not contrary to the employee’s right to privacy?  If other entities request for information on a prospective employee from the previous employer, is it considered as personal information which requires prior consent of the employee for its release?

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