O.Armitstead
Are private beliefs the legitimate concern of employers?
Employers should be concerned with most of what there employee believes in, however private beliefs may be taking this too far. An employer should be watchful of their employees, to make sure that they don’t get in to trouble, and are not suffering from stress. It is in the employer’s best interests that this is done so that the employee is the most productive that he or she can be. However in a world where peoples privacy is becoming less and less, is it right for an employer to be concerned with the private beliefs of their employee? I think that it is, because the welfare of the employer and all of the workers could in the most extreme case be in jeopardy.
We have controversy concerning employee privacy. Today workers' every keystroke leaves a trail of information that employers generally have the legal right to examine and use as the basis for disciplinary action against employees. Employees have been fired because of the content of e-mails or for surfing to internet sites deemed inappropriate by the employer. Employees have been forced to supply urine samples for drug testing, given personality tests in job interviews, and secretly videotaped--even in company restrooms. Yet very few laws protect employee privacy; the political power of business has been able to fend off most attempts to limit employer discretion. A few notable exceptions exist-- for example, federal law prohibits employers from administering lie-detector tests in job interviews.
