Privacy Issues in the Workplace - Essay Sample

Workplace privacy is becoming an increasingly contested issue in the general performance of an organization. Different methods of monitoring workers have been created in the recent past, building particularly on the current development in medical technology and the new development in informatics. In this essay much will focus on the relationship that exists between autonomy and the privacy within the workplace, bringing out what kind of personal information do employees have an obligation of revealing to the employers in reference to Lippe.

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According to Richard Lippe, employees are today going through what is recognized to be unjustified assault is issues dealing with their privacy. In the current performance, must well recognize assault is the urine test which is a great nightmare to the United States employees. It is estimated that thirty percent if the fortune five hundred companies that are operating in the United States are in need of the urine test as one of the essential element and part and parcel of the application process. The proponent of that particular test warns the risk and danger of drug abuse that is a rampant drug abuse and use in the America and the general society. In most cases, employees insist on the overall role of to safeguard consumer health and safety, core workers and the need of maintaining productivity in the workplace staff. Unfortunately, the public debates over such substantial issues is little in the way of patient and careful analysis, though much have focused on privacy and autonomy in the workplace, less attention has been paid to the privacy rights of prospective employees and employees. Additionally, it has also been realized that privacy is valuable because of the relation it has to autonomy.

With autonomy being the capacity of an individual to make rationally right choices especially when it is about their activities, privacy is therefore valuable since it is the relationship autonomy and self-concept, and it involves over who can observe or even have control over us over some of the information about us. According to Lippkie, perception on privacy, the fact is that privacy is valuable because of the relation it is having to one's autonomy and the self-concept of autonomy (Lippke). And in order, the freedom of self-concept, other people including the employers are supposed to grant us the control we have over our self, over information and the general control over who are in the position of experiencing us and when they are supposed to do so.

In the current chaotic business environment, it is of significant value that companies recognize and efficiently manage the growth and the development of their employees so as to motivate them to make use of the full capabilities. One of the most significant skills that create value and therefore brings out a difference in the current workplace is working with the employees who are having a high level of autonomy. As reported by Lieno, the word autonomy is generated from Greek autos meaning self and nomos meaning rule of law or governance. The initial use of autonomy was first applied to refer to us self-governance or self-rule of the Hellenic state which was independent. Additionally, autonomy has since been extended different individuals and have gained meaning as diverse as liberty, self-governance, individual choice, liberty, responsibility for being one's own person and for one own behavior (Lippke). When it comes to making a clarification on the concept of autonomy though, it is significant to raise the argument that autonomy under empowerment does not create the notion that individuals are free to work without considering any responsibility or accountability. In fact, it creates a great deal of interaction and coordination with other employees in the organization, and through this, the conclusion is made that, being totally autonomous in one's job is dysfunctional and unrealistic.

Being, that employee autonomy is normally cited by employees as one of the advantageous features of empowerment, in most cases, it provides independence and freedom to come up with their decision and to, and the discretion of doing work make provision of a sense of self-determination to the workers. One of the important concepts that is viewed to be a motivating factor in times when employees are expressing creativity and initiative. I will raise the argument that privacy is central to autonomy, in other words, individuals need privacy to come to come up with autonomous behavior. In most cases, the autonomous behavior is vastly acknowledged by authors on organization development as the pillar of learning organizations.

When it comes to the kind of personal information that employees have an obligation to reveal to their private life, in other words, an argument can be raised that privacy is the central to autonomy and employees need privacy so as to come up with autonomous behavior. Autonomous behavior is identified by authors on organization development as the pillar of the learning organization. Surveillance would tend not to bring out the sort of employees when it comes to managing the chaotic environment. With the experience of emerging economic development, it requires learning rather than control since it is in the employer interest to come up with a system, as one of the systems that motivate learning rather than one that is portraying control and surveillance. Through such an argument, the fact can be sustained by a possibility to view employee privacy as one of the values that can serve the interest of both stakeholders. This manner of employee privacy cannot just become an idea that one can create at the end but rather a significant element of the modern organization efforts. Such a way of conceiving the challenge can highlight the very subtle underappreciated, that is link between organization development, learning, autonomy, privacy, and actual choices information system implementation and design

About the human body in the workplace, workers body are increasingly becoming the subject of scrutiny by employers from the fingerprint, genetically disposition, from the presence of alcohol traces in workers urine which is mostly common to the presence of scar tissue in the lower abdomen. Additionally, in some professions, moreover, such actions that ensure employees monitor is normally associated and accompanied by the physical intervention which is becoming a routine such as the drug tests, periodical medical test, and even body scans. Also, in the current performance, organizations are increasing, making the use of biometric verification and authentication to offer security; such actions normally lead to a physical touch to the workers bodies.

Notably, privacy is also viewed to be invaded when the individual whose privacy has been invaded seem likely to perceive themselves as worthy of top autonomy respect to an individual privacy is to treat them in a trusting and a respectful manner. Through this, it worth making the conclusion that the individual is acting autonomously. On the other hand, close, constant correction, and intrusive supervision, or even threat it is in opposition to the individuals maintaining and developing the sense of them as worthy of autonomy.

Further, Kupher and Lippke can raise the argument that autonomous individuals are those that possess the capacity for it, that is a self-concept of developed autonomous. If any individual is not in a position of developing his autonomous self-concept she or he is not autonomous. Ideally, lack of privacy plays a big role especially in the prevention or inhibiting the development of such autonomous self-concept. A company which requires employee privacy and autonomy prevents growth and innovation hence making me agree that privacy and autonomy are important and self-reliance can be likened to a persons capacity or independence for independent choices. Since most organizations are currently looking for who are resourceful, who requires minimal supervision and employees who are initiative, the scope of employees privacy rights should be put in place so as to acknowledge that employee and employer are part of the freedom of contract exercise (Lippke).

Relying on the contractual model of employer employee relationship, some writers like Duska and Desjardin made use of the concept of job relevance to ensure that information was restricted. According to Person L, employee privacy is washed way each day, with the famous top five hundred companies that required a urine test, which is even no way related to the job. According to Lippke, employees are supposed to retain their private details, and no employee should be forced to provide his/her details to the company. Since companies are forcing innocent workers with the test, education is supposed to offer to the employee about the test, and they should forbid them from providing such details to the employees. Every employee is expected to understand his or her privacy value.

When contrast is made with the contractual model, Lippke has an excellent reason for having a significant opposition on employers having the acquisition of certain sorts of information and for objecting to certain methods of gathering in that the collection process and the general test provide an implication to the workers that they are not trustworthy. The test shows that the employers undermines the sense of trustworthiness and there is great sense that manager is worthy of acting autonomy.

I totally agree with Lippke that there is a grave imbalance in power between the employees and the employer and that the workplace is controlled by authoritarian leadership structure can offer deprivation employees autonomy. Through the cross or random surveillance or testing without any reasonable clause, employer tends to have total control over employee since there is nothing in return that employee is demanding from them based on surveillance or even testing.

Lastly, through Lippke response to the argument that the property rights of the stakeholders and the owners should take precedence over employees rights. I totally agree that the existing companies of work are seriously contributing to the challenges like dishonesty and drug use in different ways since through the surveillance, sensitization can be made, and when employers are authoritative over their employees, they are likely to feel that their lives are in total control especially in the working world. Most individuals tend to engage in drugs so as to rebel to those who are taking control of them.

Work cited

Lippke, Richard L. Radical Business Ethics. Rowman & Littlefield, 1995. Print.