Employee Privacy: Company Rights

Think of  a coin. On one side is employee privacy. On the other side is company rights. Once we leave the confines of company facilities, paid company work time or sponsored event, these two issues become mutually exclusive.

I assert strongly that employees surrender expectations of privacy when they are being paid to work (company time.)

I assert with equal emphasis that what employees do legally on non-company time is strictly private. Employers have no need or reason to have or seek knowledge of employees' or prospective employees' private activity.

Company time belongs to the company. Employee time belongs to the employee.

It is completely consistent then, to state that if employee work performance or attendance is impacted negatively by off-work activities, the work performance or attendance in question become the subject of counseling or discipline in the workplace.

This post opens the door to the very current issue of social media and the employer-employee relationship.

Lance