Dear Comrades,
Please tell me -
Is it the job of HR to be spying over the employees - as to what personal things they do in office hours, what websites they browse, their dating habits, whether they have boy friend / girl friend etc. etc.
Is it proper if the company expects HR to do this backbiting job?
If you are enrusted with such responsibilty, what will be your reaction and how will you handle it?
Please respond.
Jeeva.
From India, Bangalore
Please tell me -
Is it the job of HR to be spying over the employees - as to what personal things they do in office hours, what websites they browse, their dating habits, whether they have boy friend / girl friend etc. etc.
Is it proper if the company expects HR to do this backbiting job?
If you are enrusted with such responsibilty, what will be your reaction and how will you handle it?
Please respond.
Jeeva.
From India, Bangalore
Dear fraternity members,
Can I ask you to refelect on this subject?
Is spying the emploees good for the company? Or, is it the way to ensure mistrust everywhere?
With the kind of few scandals in the BPO companies that came to light recently, one may feel spying employees in the organization is necessary.
But, again, will such spying not affect the employees' morale and commitment?
Your views, please.
Jeeva.
From India, Bangalore
Can I ask you to refelect on this subject?
Is spying the emploees good for the company? Or, is it the way to ensure mistrust everywhere?
With the kind of few scandals in the BPO companies that came to light recently, one may feel spying employees in the organization is necessary.
But, again, will such spying not affect the employees' morale and commitment?
Your views, please.
Jeeva.
From India, Bangalore
Hi,
check where HP has landed into trouble....
Hewlett-Packard is caught in a firestorm of bad publicity after it was revealed that the chairwoman of its board of directors authorized a spying campaign aimed at ending press leaks that ultimately included surreptitiously obtaining the phone records (see "HP's 'False Pretenses'?" in News in Brief below and John Sullivan's column "HR Goes MIA at HP") of some board members and nine journalists. Yet, HP chief executive Mark Hurd has not fired Patricia Dunn, who organized the Silicon Valley spy ring. Dunn has instead said she will step down as chairwoman but will remain a director, a move that has not quieted criticism of the high-tech giant.
And this is for official reason. What your management is suggesting is the personal lives!!!! I pesonally feel we have no right to monitor or spy. Create an environment of trust in the orgnisation!!!
Regards,
Anuradha
From India, Pune
check where HP has landed into trouble....
Hewlett-Packard is caught in a firestorm of bad publicity after it was revealed that the chairwoman of its board of directors authorized a spying campaign aimed at ending press leaks that ultimately included surreptitiously obtaining the phone records (see "HP's 'False Pretenses'?" in News in Brief below and John Sullivan's column "HR Goes MIA at HP") of some board members and nine journalists. Yet, HP chief executive Mark Hurd has not fired Patricia Dunn, who organized the Silicon Valley spy ring. Dunn has instead said she will step down as chairwoman but will remain a director, a move that has not quieted criticism of the high-tech giant.
And this is for official reason. What your management is suggesting is the personal lives!!!! I pesonally feel we have no right to monitor or spy. Create an environment of trust in the orgnisation!!!
Regards,
Anuradha
From India, Pune
Hi Jeeva I do agree with Anuradha. We don’t have any right to poke our nose in anybody’s personal affair. Regards Sujata
From India, Faridabad
From India, Faridabad
Dear Jeeva,
I agree with other members and their comments in totality and as you have already and rightly said that it is a "backbiting job". The Management is trying to use your shoulders to shoot, in the end nothing will happen to them and your reputation, integrity, relationship will be in shambles.
I think if they are trying to regulate their employee it should be done departmentally not by HR. Tell your Management that it is not the responsibility of HR to police employees and neither are you a James Bond.
For example if they feel that employees are surfing "Not Work Related" sites, it is the duty of IT Administrator to block the Sites on input received from HODs and not HR duty to keep track of who is surfing what.
Tell them one more thing, it is not possible for you to judge whether a person is working, wasting time or not meeting schedule, that should be decided by the employee's reporting Officer. To do the whole thing you need to know in details and keep track of progress for each and every employee which is not possible since to keep track you yourself need to know everything otherwise you cannot supervise and people will take you for a ride.
In the end, if they still entrust you with the responsibility then say that unless you receive a complaint in writing you will not be able to act. If they donot agree to this than start an agressive and authoritative drive and weild your stick and act as a super boss and a ddictator. Automatically you will see other Managers will start objecting as their authority will get eroded and employees will start complaning. The whole issue will die a natural dead.
Regards,
SC
From India, Thane
I agree with other members and their comments in totality and as you have already and rightly said that it is a "backbiting job". The Management is trying to use your shoulders to shoot, in the end nothing will happen to them and your reputation, integrity, relationship will be in shambles.
I think if they are trying to regulate their employee it should be done departmentally not by HR. Tell your Management that it is not the responsibility of HR to police employees and neither are you a James Bond.
For example if they feel that employees are surfing "Not Work Related" sites, it is the duty of IT Administrator to block the Sites on input received from HODs and not HR duty to keep track of who is surfing what.
Tell them one more thing, it is not possible for you to judge whether a person is working, wasting time or not meeting schedule, that should be decided by the employee's reporting Officer. To do the whole thing you need to know in details and keep track of progress for each and every employee which is not possible since to keep track you yourself need to know everything otherwise you cannot supervise and people will take you for a ride.
In the end, if they still entrust you with the responsibility then say that unless you receive a complaint in writing you will not be able to act. If they donot agree to this than start an agressive and authoritative drive and weild your stick and act as a super boss and a ddictator. Automatically you will see other Managers will start objecting as their authority will get eroded and employees will start complaning. The whole issue will die a natural dead.
Regards,
SC
From India, Thane
I fully agree with SC.
It is NOT the “job of HR to be spying over the employees”. HR is a staff, not a line, function. We administer policies, audit the organizational procedures, make employment decisions (discipline/discharge/safety/etc.) and plan/ introduce/ strategic initiatives consistent with the goals and objectives of the organization.
Staff promulgates policy; Line insures implementation. Line management has responsibility to control and direct the workforce. We have no responsibility for the day to day activities of that workforce.
Management has the right to run the business and so it follows that they must have the authority to legally control the workforce. Company rules of conduct, Standards of Operation, Safety Policies are all designed to promote productivity, efficiency and safety in the workplace, and stem from such managerial authority.
An employee gives up some personal rights when he accepts compensation for his efforts. That is a basic part of the employer-employee contract. The presumption of privacy goes out the window when the employee accepts the paycheck. Employees have an obligation to direct their efforts toward the good of the organization, not to “surf the net”, or send e-mails to friends, or use the company’s equipment for fun and profit.
If one employee is allowed to divert his/her efforts to other, nonproductive endeavors, on the company’s time, then the virus of irresponsibility will spread throughout the organization, resulting in a decline of morale, commitment, and finally the business. Then everyone will have the time to engage in personal pursuits.
Regards,
PALADIN
From United States,
It is NOT the “job of HR to be spying over the employees”. HR is a staff, not a line, function. We administer policies, audit the organizational procedures, make employment decisions (discipline/discharge/safety/etc.) and plan/ introduce/ strategic initiatives consistent with the goals and objectives of the organization.
Staff promulgates policy; Line insures implementation. Line management has responsibility to control and direct the workforce. We have no responsibility for the day to day activities of that workforce.
Management has the right to run the business and so it follows that they must have the authority to legally control the workforce. Company rules of conduct, Standards of Operation, Safety Policies are all designed to promote productivity, efficiency and safety in the workplace, and stem from such managerial authority.
An employee gives up some personal rights when he accepts compensation for his efforts. That is a basic part of the employer-employee contract. The presumption of privacy goes out the window when the employee accepts the paycheck. Employees have an obligation to direct their efforts toward the good of the organization, not to “surf the net”, or send e-mails to friends, or use the company’s equipment for fun and profit.
If one employee is allowed to divert his/her efforts to other, nonproductive endeavors, on the company’s time, then the virus of irresponsibility will spread throughout the organization, resulting in a decline of morale, commitment, and finally the business. Then everyone will have the time to engage in personal pursuits.
Regards,
PALADIN
From United States,
Hi!
I feel HR Dept should never spy on his employees. It's there personal life, what people do on there own time.
Make your boss understand that Employee spying is not a productive measure or valuable use of company time and resources. Regardless of this, it may well become as necessary an evil in the corporate environment.
The minute you eliminate trust, relationships deteriorate.
Cheers
Neeta.S
From India, Mumbai
I feel HR Dept should never spy on his employees. It's there personal life, what people do on there own time.
Make your boss understand that Employee spying is not a productive measure or valuable use of company time and resources. Regardless of this, it may well become as necessary an evil in the corporate environment.
The minute you eliminate trust, relationships deteriorate.
Cheers
Neeta.S
From India, Mumbai
Hi, Neeta,
I agree that it is not the job of HR dept. to spy the employees. But, should the company keep a vigil on the personal lives of the employees so as to check what implications the organisation will have according to the employee's personal life habits? If yes, which dept. should be doing this?
Jeeva.
From India, Bangalore
I agree that it is not the job of HR dept. to spy the employees. But, should the company keep a vigil on the personal lives of the employees so as to check what implications the organisation will have according to the employee's personal life habits? If yes, which dept. should be doing this?
Jeeva.
From India, Bangalore
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