What is Employee Monitoring? Let Us Understand It Better

What is employee monitoring still remains a relevant question in today’s age. Even though most companies have started using employee monitoring solutions in the workplace, there are still some organizations, especially small-sized ones that are still unaware of monitoring tools.

Employee monitoring tools come in different forms. Companies who are concerned about their confidential data and do not want a data breach in the company are using different types of employee monitoring solutions.

Before we can discuss different types of employee monitoring tools and the advantages and disadvantages of employee monitoring, we need to understand what is employee monitoring.

What is Employee Monitoring?

Employee monitoring involves all the processes and methods that employers use to track their employees’ activities in the workplace during office hours. With employee monitoring solutions, employers can keep eyes on their employees and find out what they have been doing.

They can track their employees’ phone calls, emails, text messages, location, and web browsing activities. They can also find out how much time an employee has spent on a particular project and how many projects they have completed in a certain period.

Different Types of Employee Monitoring

Large scale organizations have huge amounts of data stored in their computer systems so it’s important that they use different types of employee monitoring tools to keep its data from theft. It has been observed that most data breaches are caused by insiders. To detect dishonest employees, it is important for companies to use different types of employee monitoring tools.

Companies can use keycards to find out when an employee has checked in to the workplace and in what area of the office building they have walked into. Employers can also use video surveillance in each room of the office building to keep eyes on their employees during office hours.

With the help of network monitoring, employers can find out about the internet traffic that comes and goes from the company’s networking system. Employers can also monitor work emails to find out who their employees have been interacting with and what sort of emails they have been exchanging with others.

In case, employees have tried to exchange the company’s private data with an outsider through the work email, employers can catch them instantly and fire them from their jobs. However, employers must bear in mind that they cannot track their employees’ personal emails as that would cause privacy invasion.

Similarly, with the help of employee monitoring software like Mobistealth, employers can track the web browsing and social media activity of their employees and find out what sites and apps they have been visiting, how much time they are spending on a certain site or app, and who they have been talking to on their social media accounts.

Employee Monitoring Ethics

For many years, employers and employees have been having a long debate on employee monitoring ethics. Some believe it is unethical to monitor employees’ activities whereas others believe there is nothing wrong with employee monitoring.

When we compare the pros and cons of employee monitoring, we come to realize that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of employee monitoring. Now, let us discuss employee monitoring ethics briefly.

When an employer attempts to spy on its employee’s activity just for the sake of fun and curiosity, then it means he is trying to invade their personal privacy. By doing this, the employer can cause the employee to feel offended and he may even end up facing a huge employee turnover. No employee would want his employer to track his personal activity and invade his personal privacy. Huge employee turnover leaves a negative impact on the company.

An employer should have a genuine and legitimate reason to monitor his employees during office hours. Once they have a genuine reason, employee monitoring becomes ethical. An employer should not track his employees if he is bored or finds others doing it as well. He must have a valid reason to track his employees.

Employee Monitoring Laws

In the majority of the countries, employee monitoring is completely legal. Different countries follow different employee monitoring laws and regulations. The specifics of employee monitoring laws and regulations depend on the country in which a certain company is operating.

However, no matter what laws and regulations your country is following, it is important that you inform your employees about monitoring beforehand. Prior to monitoring their activities, you should inform them that their activity will be monitored during office hours. Also, get their consent before you can start tracking their activity.

That way, you do not have to face any problem while tracking your employees. Hence, it is essential that every employer gets familiar with the laws and regulations of their country before monitoring their employees’ activities.

You can use a professional and reliable employee monitoring app or software to track your employees. Mobistealth is the most recommended employee monitoring software. You just need to download the software, install them on your employee’s device, and start tracking them.