Values and Performance. Unfortunately, a few bad employees makes it bad for the entire group, which leads to increased monitoring. If an employer values their employees they will treat them like working professionals and only monitor if and when red flags are triggered or to “increase productivity particularly by reducing misuse of employee time”(Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015, p. 693). Surveys have shown over 60% of employees send personal emails, surf the web for personal use, check social media profiles and the list goes on during normal business hours. Employers are not paying the employees to handle personal matters. Personal affairs should be taken care of during your break or lunch.

Biblically speaking, the Word of God says, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21, KJV, n.d.). This verse can be applied different ways in life. As for employee monitoring, employees should do what is expected of them at work by utilizing the employer’s property in the expected manner. Anything personal should be conducted on your own device or equipment to alleviate any thoughts of misconduct on the employee’s behalf.

From the legal perspective, employers have the right to monitor what belongs to them as long it has been disclosed to the employees. The employer may develop a “Computer Use Policy” to include verbiage about personal emails and surfing the web (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, p. 699). However, the policy should not be used in a discriminatory or retaliatory manner against an employee. If employers are genuinely utilizing monitoring tactics for safety, security, and the overall well-being of the company and their employees, I am all in, but if it is used to violate privacy simply because they have the power to do so, I completely disagree.