« McDonalds new look | Main | Face to face with the sharks »
April 28, 2005
Hey - I see you. CCTV at the workplace
I overheard this short discussion on Traxx FM this morning. More and more companies in the US, but also increasingly organisations in Malaysia, install CCTV cameras in their premises to watch employees and their doing.
Do you know any such company? What is your opionion about this?
Mine is that it is useless. We are living in a high-tech environment where more and more jobs go mobile. In the nearer future, many workers will either work from home or elsewhere or be on the road to conduct their business. How to supervise them?
Worse, isn't this a total sign of mistrusting your employees? Okay, while basically, employees are paid to work by an employer to work 40 hours or so for a company, the limits of work are pushed to the back anyway.
We work longer hours, we are reachable 24/7, and frequently, push private life and family to the background to meet project and thus employers' needs.
If I would have a camera in the background, I would feel mistrusted, regulated, felt treated worse than a child that needs supervision.
It is clear that companies need to observe costs, but the social costs that come with a CCTV at a workplace are higher than companies might foresee.
I believe that an employee equipped with challenging work, having a clear careerpath and working with trusting and reliable leadership outperforms the requirements set.
On the other hand: Show me a CCTV in a company and I will show you a loser in the market place. Is this too hard a statement?
Posted by Andreas at April 28, 2005 01:09 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.alwayswow.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/221
Comments
well i worked in an office with cctv before, i didn't feel violated or anything, just relieved that the tealady won't steal my handphone or something (apparently the reason why cctv was installed in the 1st place - theft). perhaps employees have to reflect on their own behaviours. i don't see why they should feel uncomfortable, it's a public place...some things are meant to be done in the privacy of your home or the loo. malay proverb, "he who eats chilli feels the heat". this is too slight an issue to be stressed over, if your employer wants to observe you, there are many willing people who would step up to do the job for him, with complimentary false information to boot. i rather the video speaks for me.
Posted by: kimberlycun at April 29, 2005 01:41 AM
Office me not sure, but production floor, meeting rooms, hallways, yes... I have seen them. My previous workplace has them, it's hard to even adjust bra strap or scratch my ass without someone stalking.
Posted by: EF at April 28, 2005 09:32 PM
Ouch, a nail on my head. My ex-company has a CCTV. Boss said it is for security reason, in case robbers barged in, he has time to load err...whatever. But definitely, it has a huge impact on the employees. Me, being a secretary, was spared but I had to 'monitor' things sometimes. It must be dreadful being under the watchful eyes 8/5.
Posted by: lilian at April 28, 2005 01:20 PM