Should companies be allowed to monitor employee emails?

"Many organizations monitor both e-mail and telephone conversations of their employees. These organizations cite productivity and quality control as justification. People who used to chat at the water cooler or snack counter no so now over office e-mailor instant messaging. "

E-mail can enhance worker productivity when used responsibly, and can hurt when abused.

Many employees have been fired for the contents of their e-mail.

Items to consider:

Is monitoring e-mail an invasion of privacy?

Does the employer have a right to know what the employee does when they are being paid?

Does the employer have a right to full control over its e-mail resource?

Good information: http://www.infoweblinks.com/content/e-mailprivacy.htm

more good information: http://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/speech/email/

* credited to Larry and Nancy Long, Computers: Information Technology in Perspective, 11ed: Prentice Hall: NJ.