Conflicting Rights - Employee vs Employer

Employers have legitimate reasons for collecting personal information about their employees. If they do not collect this information, they will have no way of knowing if the potential employee will meet the requirements of employment. They need to address performance issues and ensure the physical security of their workplace. And they may see electronic monitoring and other surveillance as necessary to ensure productivity, stop leaks of trade secrets, and prevent workplace harassment.

Sometimes employers have no choice but to delve into private matters. But they can keep those instances to a minimum, and limit the impact on personal privacy. The possibility that an individual employee might do something harmful doesn't justify treating all employees as suspects. The benefit of knowing what every employee is doing on company time and equipment, at all times, needs to be weighed against the cost. Preventing workplace harassment is an important goal, but it's best achieved through workforce training and sensitization, tough anti-harassment policies, and appropriate measures when harassment is reported or reasonably suspected.