Most successes in business today hinge on the extent to which they apply the use of the internet. The internet is essential at work for a number of reasons including the marked reduction in the operating cost as a result of automation of labor and secondly, it facilitates communication at different levels. Internet services increase efficiency, enable research, and connection with other businesses locally and abroad. Use of internet also proves vital where the company wants to expand geographically and also minimizes the inventory required by the company. The employer has an obligation and a responsibility of electronically monitoring the communications of the employee in compliance with the standard business practices. It is a method which the employers use in a bid to enhance efficiency, manage resources, and ensure adherence to policies and procedures. Technology, therefore, gives an opportunity to employers to monitor and assess the ever-increasing communications and activities by the employees in the work and non-work setting.
Internet Use in the Workplace
The internet abuse is a matter that is of significant concerns not only to the employers but also the employees. The wrong use of the internet in the workplace is a cause of alarm for the employees and the management of the company alike. The company can suffer due to loss of revenue that is as a result of reduced productivity and also as a consequent of a tainted image and reputation. Misusing the internet will also inhibit the employees from meeting their respective deadlines and also have implications on their response to the customer needs. As such, there is an increased likelihood that the employees will fail to complete vital tasks. Companies whose employees use the internet inappropriately will lose their standards of customer quality and services hence jeopardizing the customer satisfaction levels and their position in corporate credibility. However, when enacting the internet rules, companies must remain cognizant of pertinent issues such as ensuring the employee satisfaction, productivity, and security among others. If the employers risk taking away all the privileges, there is a likelihood that most workers will not be satisfied with the working environment.
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Torts That Could Be Committed By Employees Using Internet at Work
Torts are classified as an illegal act or wrongdoing done without the intention of causing harm to another individual. The inappropriate use of the internet at work can put the company at grave risks that include theft of the company's classified information such as financial and customer information, and also jeopardizing the integrity of the data. When the employees carry out these issues innocently, they are putting the company in a position where they can potentially face human resource and liability issues ( Taylor, Fritsch, & Liederbach, 2014). One of the areas on the internet that can potentially damage the company is the acquisition of pornographic materials. When an employee downloads pornographic content or other inappropriate content, the business can become legally liable for such actions. Whereas the employee might not have wished to harm other in the process, the implications can be dire for the company in its entirety. Other torts that can be committed by the employee include the use of the job email for personal communications instead of work commitments and the transmission of programs that can potentially cause damage to the company’s information system.
Crimes That Could Be Caused By Employees Using the Internet at Work
There are numerous ways that employees can use in committing computer crimes. Such crimes differ in magnitude ranging from simply annoying to those with monumental implications. Mahatanankoon (2014) asserted that some of the ways in which a worker can put the company’s image at risk through computer crimes include invasion of privacy, theft, manipulation of financial data, and the introduction of foreign content in the form of viruses or Trojans. Other crimes in the company can also include the tempering with transactions and the downloading of pornographic material. Cases of fraud are also common which can involve sharing the company's secret information in exchange with money. Online expeditions and phishing are also potential crimes that could be committed by white collar workers in the company. Because the crimes committed by internet users do not involve the use of violence, they are normally referred to as the white collar crimes. On the contrary, blue collar crimes are physical and employ the use violence or physical confrontation.
Corporate Vs. Individual Employee Liability
According to Leenders and Gabbay (2013), respondeat superior is a law that clearly stipulates that employers are legally responsible for any action done by their workers. However, the law only applies if the employee is carrying out responsibilities on behalf of the employer. For instance, if the company's driver is on duty and while driving hits a pedestrian, the company will be regarded liable for all the medical bills that the individual will incur. The significance of the law is to hold the owners of the business responsible for the costs of carrying out business. Also, it is imperative to appreciate that the law also holds for internet crimes committed during the while the employee is working at the company’s time. For instance, if the inappropriate material or email are received or shared during this particular time, then it is obvious that the employer will be fully responsible for the implications of the crime. However, if they go ahead and commit these crimes outside the premise of the company’s working operations, then the worker will become personally liable for their own actions.
The same case would also apply in the case where torts are committed. The tort law states that individuals who have committed torts become liable to the wounded party regardless of whether the employee was working on their own behalf or that the company. It is apparent that if the worker were acting as an agent representing the business, then the former would be liable as well.
The Use of Social Media Platforms
Social media sites are platforms where individuals can connect to build communities for purposes of gathering and sharing information with one another. There is a huge controversy with the employee's usage of social media platforms in the working environment. However, it is important to appreciate that there is a unique class of employees that must have constant access to the social media platforms such as those in the marketing department to effectively carry out their mandate. A heavy debate is still going on as to whether employees should be allowed to access the social media platforms while on their working duties. While most companies would say no, Bekkers, Edwards and de Kool (2013) illustrated that there are others which feel that accessing such platforms is important because employees get a chance to share their work and passion with the rest of the world. When such privileges are granted, the employees are guided by strict policies that ensure they use the social media platforms responsibly. An example of such a way would be to give their identity when talking about their company and giving a disclaimer concerning the views and opinions expressed in such platforms. Other companies have strict guidelines with regards to what the employees can post on the platforms. Such a move makes the employees aware that they are personally responsible for whatever they post. In some cases, employees have to sign a confidential agreement contract that protects the company should any illegal happening occur.
The duty of care and duty of loyalty violations also occur when employees are allowed to use their social media platforms. The two terms allude to the employees’ ability to act in a similar manner as another worker would have acted in that position. The duties of loyalty can easily be broken when an employee posts one side of a story regarding a negative occurrence without necessarily giving the other side hence misleading people. The duty of loyalty is also regarded as the responsibility that the employee has towards their employer. An employee must refrain from acting or conducting themselves in a manner that is contrary to the interests of the employer. Therefore, through this duty of loyalty, the employer gives the worker some degree of trust and responsibility. The duty can also be at a higher level when the employee is given the opportunity to access classified information.
Privacy Rights and Concerns of the Employee
Research conducted by the American management Association postulated that a whopping 45% of the US companies carry out electronic surveillance on its employees. It is, however, critical to note that companies do not possess this right that allows them to monitor what goes on while their workers use their equipment, some employees regard this as an infringement on their privacy rights. However, employees have numerous ways in which they can use to protect themselves. Some states have enacted laws that require employers to communicate to their workers when they under monitoring effectively. Such notices will put the employees in a better-placed situation where they know how to use their devices and services including computer, phone, and services such as email. Employees can also resort to encrypting their electronic messages to avoid getting monitored by the authorities. However, despite its advantage in protecting the employee, it can also raise unnecessary suspicion the company.
The employees are usually concerned with the amount of information the company can survey from them to have their ultimate trust. Some legislation such as the American with Disabilities Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act protects workers against potentially revealing their medical and credit information to the owners of the company. As such, employers cannot ask for credit information from the employees to determine their trustworthiness. Also, they cannot compel the workers to reveal their health condition. However, many employers monitor and assess the communications of their workers using internet, emails voicemail messages, blog usage, and GPS location. Such surveillance could result in the damage to the reputation of the employee or an unnecessary suspicion towards them.
Employment Laws Protecting both the Employer and the Employee Regarding Internet Use
Avoiding any form of lawsuit begins with rallying the company to comply with the numerous protection laws that guide the internet usage. Companies must comply with a battery of laws that include such as the National Labor Relations Act which has a chief mandate of protecting workers that fall under the union. Complying with such regulations ensures that the company cannot in any way restrict their employees from engaging in union activities so long as it does not clash with their working hours. As such, workers have the freedom of carrying out endeavours such as sharing union information so long as it does not impact on their productivity and working hours. Another way in which the company can avoid legal issues is by avoiding workers that cause them problems. It is within the legal mandates of companies to carry out background checks before making hiring or employment. Willison and Warkentin (2013) asserted that the background checks give the employees an opportunity to discern whether the employee will potentially cause harm to the company or not. The company is also within its rights to dismiss an employee on the basis of previous misconduct such a history of visiting inappropriate sites. Negligent retention might end up costing the company immensely with regards to legal suits and reputation.
Sánchez Abril, Levin and Del Riego (2012) asserted that the employees are also protected with regards to their usage of the social media with law referred to as the Social Media Protection Act. In a nutshell, the law prevents an employer from compelling an employee or a job applicant from disclosing information regarding their various internet accounts. Such information includes the login data such as the username and passwords of various accounts. However, the employer has the right to view any information existing in the public domain. It is incumbent upon the employers to differentiate the permissible and non-permissible use of internet at the working environment.
Policy Making
I will propose two policies that target two classes of employees; the low-level employees and the other one targeting the board of directors. For the low-level employees, I will create a policy that requires every person to attend six months internet compliance training. After that, they will append their signatures to a contract that stipulates that they will not use the internet inappropriately. In the contract, I would outline certain requirements including a description of the correct internet use in the working area, description of what entails abuse of internet, an explanation of who and what is bound in the contract, and the implications of going against the stipulations outlined. One other critical information that can make up the contract is the steps the company will take in monitoring their employees working in the organizations.
The second proposal that I will make will regard the use of the internet by the board of directors. The internet usage of the members of the board will be put the care of their assistant and secretaries who will be mandated to ensuring that all their endeavours are related to the goals, missions, visions, and objectives of the company. A mentoring process will also be done on the secretaries and assistants of the board members to ensure that they become more aware of their roles and what they are required to do in the realization of the company's set targets.
Ethical Issues That Could Arise From the Policies
Putting the employees in mandatory internet compliance training can be unethical especially if it was not part of the job requirement. The training should be more voluntary to show good faith and the real desire to initiate change for the benefit of the workers. In the contract where the employees are supposed to sign, there is a clause that stipulates the monitoring of the workers by the company. However, this is an ethical issue that might lead to clashing between the employers and the employees as both would be trying to protect their personal interests.
In conclusion, balancing the company's regulations and a productive working environment for the employees is one of the most fundamental issues of any organization. The internet is a contemporary and essential tool for every business which when used well can enable immense efficiency in the company. However, the wrong usage can result in grave implications for the company ranging from legal suits and problems of the image. Therefore, companies must focus on creating policies that promote the ethical and responsible use of the internet to avoid the unwanted problems.
References
Bekkers, V., Edwards, A., & de Kool, D. (2013). Social media monitoring: Responsive governance in the shadow of surveillance? Government Information Quarterly , 30 (4), 335-342.
Leenders, R. T. A., & Gabbay, S. M. (Eds.). (2013). Corporate social capital and liability . Springer Science & Business Media.
Mahatanankoon, P. (2014). Internet abuse in the workplace: extension of workplace deviance model. In The Internet and workplace transformation (pp. 25-37). Routledge.
Sánchez Abril, P., Levin, A., & Del Riego, A. (2012). Blurred boundaries: Social media privacy and the twenty‐first‐century employee. American Business Law Journal , 49 (1), 63-124.
Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., & Liederbach, J. (2014). Digital crime and digital terrorism . Prentice Hall Press.
Willison, R., & Warkentin, M. (2013). Beyond deterrence: An expanded view of employee computer abuse. MIS Quarterly , 37 (1).
